Damaged Goods
by Jpena
Summary: I watched cold case last week. I became obsessed with this couple. In my mind they belong together. This story takes place after the seventh season. Moments occur between these two and we all find ourselves wanting more, this story is basically what I imagine would have happened if the relationship could have been explored. Please read and review. (mature content)
1. Chapter 1

I don't own Cold Case.

I was on vacation from work and started watching cold case on cable. I became obsessed and watched every episode last weekend. Please review, let me know your thoughts.

Chapter 1

Scotty got ready for work; he tried his best to work out the tie knot. He was running very late. He didn't get much sleep last night; the squad was working on a new case. A little girl, Linda McCormick 10 years old; she drowned back in '87. The case became personal when Vera recognized the girl as one of his younger sister's playmates.

They narrowed the suspects' pool to three; the father who had been absent ever since the little girl drowned, a close friend who was the last one to see her before someone drowned her in the local pool and the lifeguard who found Linda's body. So far the interviews hadn't yielded any new results. Scotty and Lilly interrogated the father, Scotty wanted to rule him out from the beginning but Lil had been adamant about talking to the guy a second time. Scotty smirked while driving to headquarters. Ralph McCormick's alibi checked out, he had been in California on a business trip. Lilly ruled the dad after that.

Scotty thought about the other two suspects while driving to the precinct. The friend was easy to track; she was living in Florida ever since her high school graduation. Vera and Miller were going on a trip. Scotty smirked; his teammates drew the short sticks. Jeffries was still tracking the lifeguard, Rodrigo Mendoza. He had been almost convicted for the crime but there wasn't any evidence linking him to Linda in any way. Scotty went up the elevator to his desk. He saw Lil already pouring over case files and talking to Kat.

"Good morning ladies." He said and went straight to the break room for some coffee. Black two sugars, for Lil and a black one sugar for him. He gave the cup to Lil who smiled politely. "How come I don't get the same treatment? Where's my coffee?" Kat asked and made a face at Scotty. He smirked, "You always complain about not enough milk, too much sugar, too bitter…" Scotty sat next to Lil. "I grew tired of it, my partner never complains about her coffee. She's a simple girl unlike you." Scotty pointed out and smiled when Kat frowned deeply and Lil chuckled.

"I thought you would be on your way to Miami by now. What are you doing here?" Scotty asked to Kat.

Lil looked at the female detective after taking a sip of her coffee.

"I was, but Boss wanted me to try and track Mendoza. Will was getting frustrated so I took over." Kat smiled triumphantly and showed them a sheet of paper. "Mendoza lives in Miami Florida. He moved right after the case went cold."

"By any chance does he live close to Mrs. Giffords?" Lilly smirked, already thinking that their two main suspects were linked.

"No, not really. I don't know what Boss plans to do. He requested a staff meeting in thirty minutes." Kat said distractedly while Vera and Jeffries entered headquarters.

"All I'm asking is for two more weeks until I get my own place Will." Nick pleaded.

"Nick, you've said the same thing ever since you moved in. It's been close to a year. You are moving out next Monday and that is final." Will said as he sat on his chair and made a phone call, Scotty thought it was to stop Vera from pleading his case further.

Ever since Vera had his breakdown Will had accepted to take him back. So many things had happened last year. Christina had gone to rehab; Lilly had been offered a job in New York with the Feds… Lilly thankfully decided to stay in Philly and Christina cleaned her act and pieced her life together. She was living in New York with her daughter and a guy named Bruce. Lilly had worried about Rebecca, her niece but so far Chris was doing great. Lilly and him had gotten closer this year. They had dinner once a week and talked about anything and everything. Lilly was his best friend. She was the closest thing he got to a sister.

Stillman opened his door. "Good everyone is here. Please step into my office, all of you." The boss left the door open for the team to follow.

Scotty and Vera were the first to step in, soon Lilly and Kat sat in front of the boss. Jeffries entered the room after five minutes. "Sorry about that. I was checking on a possible lead about Mendoza."

"That won't be necessary Will. Kat already located our lifeguard." Boss wiped his glasses and then looked at his team.

"As you are aware our two main suspects live in Miami. I've decided to send four of you on the trip." There were groans from Scotty and Lilly.

Stillman wrote two t's and placed them in the regular notes cup. "The two of you who get the t's are going with Vera and Miller. "Boss about that, I can't go. Veronica has this thing, a trip to Connecticut and I'm not letting her go by herself."

The lieutenant nodded, "Well that solves our little problem."

"Boss you can't do that I ain't going to Miami." Scotty said seriously.

"I wasn't asking you Scotty. You and Lil are going whether you like it or not. Now due to cuts on our budget you have a decision on your hands. You can have the money for the airfare or the money for decent lodgings."

"Oh, come on John." Will said loudly.

"I'm sorry Will but the Department is still penny pinching" Stillman declared.

"Then why are you sending four of us?" Will argued eloquently.

The lieutenant sighed, "You haven't taken any of your lost hours. This is how I encourage you to take them. Lil don't even try to argue with me, the home front is covered, I'll stay here and I'm sure Kat will be back after a day." The young detective nodded.

"How long is this trip going to be?" Nick was actually looking forward to a few days of sunshine and half naked women.

"Four days tops." The boss said, "so what will it be airfare or lodgings?"

"Lodgings." Lilly said and no one else refuted her request.

"Great, you're leaving this afternoon after work. You'll get the service car and money for a rental once you get the Sunshine State."

"I don't want to see any of you after 4:00 PM. pack your bags and meet back here at 6:00PM."

Stillman went back to his paperwork. That was the cue the team needed, soon they emptied the office.

"Road trip, I hope this one's better than the one to Connecticut. Valens, that cot has your name on it." Vera's voice resounded all over the bullpen.

Scotty grumbled and called his mom. "Ma, I'm going to Miami, yeah work. No ain't staying at uncle Jose's house." He said while rubbing his temples. He hated road trips. He saw Lil get up and go into the break room. "Nah mom, I'll be fine just call Mike and let him know that I won't be going to Emilio's ball game. Yeah _te quiero _too bye." He hung up and finished some paperwork they needed in order to go on the goddamned trip.

Lil came back and sat next to him, "I thought you would be happier about going on vacation. You've been complaining about not going anywhere for weeks." Lilly smirked.

"Yeah, but I wouldn't choose Miami, come on Rush," she smiled softly. "It's freaking July, half the country is going to Florida. The whole state will be infested with tourists. I hate tourists." He scowled. Lilly kissed his cheek. "Cheer up doll face. We'll be back before you know it and maybe you'll find another Charlene." She winked at him and he couldn't help but laugh with her.

Scotty shook his head but kept the smile. Lilly had the power to bring a smile to his face and make him see the upside in things. He looked over to Jeffries who called different real state representatives. He really didn't want Nick around.

At 4:15 the four detectives left the bullpen. "Boss said to meet here at 6:00 he'll give us our petty cash allowances and instructions." Vera said sarcastically.

"Let's go Lil, I'll pick you up after I pack." Scotty grabbed her hand and went into the elevators. Will still wasn't on board with the trip. "People let's make this an easy process. Don't be late, that's for the both of you." He pointed to the younger detectives. I'll make sure Nick and I are here on time. Please do the same for your partner Lil."

They went their own ways after leaving headquarters. Will and Nick used the older cop's car while Lil and Scotty went separate ways.

"I'll pick you up in an hour Rush." Scotty yelled after her. Lilly nodded and drove away.

Scotty hastily threw clothes into an overnight bag. Lotion, shaving cream and deodorant, he put everything into the bag. He grabbed another pair of shoes and then went in search for something to eat before going to Lil's. He quickly made himself a chicken sandwich with some leftovers his mom gave him. After the mugging incident Scotty had taken to go home every Sunday for dinner with his parents. Only Lil knew about the incident and she had been there for him when he wanted to kill that bastard. He finished his snack and grabbed his cellphone, the overnight bag and went locked the apartment door.

He drove to his partner's house and knocked on her door. "Open up Lil. We'll be late, it's five thirty already." He shouted outside of her door.

Lilly opened the door. "About time you got here. Get the bags; they're on the living room. I'll wait for you in the car. She carried her purse and some sunglasses. "Bossy." He muttered and picked the two carry on black bags. "Hey Lil, we're only going for four days." he teased her.

"Shut up Valens." They laughed together.

They were at PPD Headquarters fifteen minutes later. Will and Nick were already at Boss' office. "Lady and Gentlemen. Here's your money and the case files." He gave the files to Lilly and the money to Will. "I expect you to report to Kat or me after your first interviews. That's the hotel you'll be staying in. I got you three rooms." Stillman said.

"I'll be taking one for myself thank you very much." Will's tone wasn't inviting any discussion. Vera and Valens frowned at each other.

"Have a safe trip." Stillman smirked at Will.

"Very funny John." Will closed the door to the office and joined the rest of the team in the parking lot.

"I call shotgun. Who's driving?" Vera asked as he got into the car. Scotty and him had already put all the luggage in the trunk, fortunately only Lilly had packed more than one bag otherwise they wouldn't have been able to fit all the bags into the car.

"I'll drive." Scotty took the car keys and got into his seat, soon they were leaving Pennsylvania behind. Vera and him started talking about the case. "I just don't think Laura would be able to kill Linda. She was a sweet kid. My sister was kind of the third wheel. They were always together, all day everyday. My mother wouldn't let Susan out much because she was three years younger than the girls and didn't trust a lot of people."

"Nick maybe you shouldn't interview Laura Giffords." Scotty said thoughtfully.

"You're very much involved in the case." Lilly read the last report made by the doctor who exhumed Linda's body.

"You and Scotty should interview Mendoza. Lil and me will talk to Mrs. Giffords." The black detective stated.

Twenty minutes later Scotty and Vera talked about sports, and future playoffs. Will joined them and Lilly just turned her iPod on and dozed off. Scotty drove for five hours straight until Jeffries took over the wheel. "Move Vera." He said trying to get Nick to go to the back seat.

"No way Valens. The back seat is uncomfortable and I called shotgun in Philly that works until we get to Miami." Nick drank his coke.

Lil took over the backseat ever since they stopped at the gas station to refill the tank. Will and Vera grabbed snacks and jumped in the front. Scotty opened the door and sat next to a sleeping Lilly. "Move over Lil" he said softly, she sat down but snuggled close to him. He sighed and moved her to a more comfortable position. She was half on top of him. He lifted her and managed to close his eyes and sleep for a while.

Jeffries and Vera talked loudly and asked something about the Phillies, "Hey Scotty what do you think about the playoffs? Do you think they're going to make it?" he heard no response. Vera looked back and found Scotty with his head back and mouth open. Lily had her head and one hand on his chest. She was knocked out too.

Nick snapped a picture. "Blackmail material." Will laughed but kept his voice low.

When Lilly woke up it was close to morning or so she thought. There was light filtering through her eyelids. She sighed and sat up. She heard Scotty grumble. "Where are we?" she asked.

"South Carolina." Vera was behind the wheel. Jeffries snored softly next to him. Scotty next to her stretched out and dug out some chips from a plastic bag.

"I need to use the restroom."

"We are about to get into Fayetteville. We'll stop there, we should be there in fifteen minutes." Vera said politely.

They stopped at another gas station and decided to have breakfast at a nearby diner. The rest of the trip went uneventfully. They were in Miami by midafternoon. Lilly drove them to their hotel. They made plans to interview the suspects that same afternoon. Scotty and Lilly insisted on starting to work that same day. Jeffries wasn't as thrilled but went along. It was clear that Vera was just as interested as the younger detectives.

Lilly and Will drove to Laura Giffords' house. She lived in a suburban area, upper middle class it seemed. They knocked on the door and a thirty something woman received them. "Laura Giffords?" Jeffries showed her his badge. "Philadelphia police. We're here to ask you some questions about Linda McCormick." The woman nodded.

"It's Reyes now." She let them in and showed them to the living room.

"Are you reopening her case, after all these years?" she sat down in front of them.

"We are looking into some new evidence." Lilly said noncommittally.

"Back in '87 you told the local police that you and Linda went for a swim at a local pool. Why didn't the two of you go back to the old neighborhood together?" Jeffries interjected.

"Linda and I were best friends. We did everything together, but we were almost teenagers. I was eleven and I started noticing boys. I was mooning over the local lifeguard. We fought that day. Linda made fun of me. She said that Rodrigo would never even look at me. I was mad and distraught at the same time and left in a huff. I never thought that would be the last time I would see her." The woman said sadly.

"Do you have any idea if she was interested in Rodrigo?" Lilly looked sharply at Laura who blinked and shook her head. "She didn't like him, she wasn't interested in boys yet."

"Detectives, I wish I could help you more but that's all I remember. It was so many years ago. My husband will be back from work any second now." The redhead smiled politely. She stood up and showed them to the door.

"Very cold and polite. I don't like her." Lilly said as she drove back to the hotel. Will chuckled and shook his head. "Still we don't have any motive from her. She stuck to her original account."

"Her alibi is not convincing though, she was home with her parents. They died three years ago in a car wreck. She could be lying for all we know." Lilly pointed out when they went to the pool. Vera and Scotty were already having some drinks. "I thought you were going to interview Mendoza." Jeffries sat next to them and ordered a drink.

Lilly decided to join her teammates and pulled a chair next to her partner. "We went to his job. A Cuban club ten blocks from here but apparently he starts his shift at 10:00 PM. They don't have any place down for him since he started working last Monday." Vera sipped his whiskey. He wasn't wearing his tie and he was sweating. Jeffries drank his beer as soon as it got there; he took his jacket off and used some papers as a fan.

Scotty however looked like he belonged; he wore his undershirt and his pants. He ordered another drink. Lilly didn't catch the name of it. He seemed to be enjoying the weather. Lilly wore her usual pantsuit sans the jacket and her cheeks were pink. "What did you get from Laura?" Nick asked interestedly.

"Same old story, she stuck to her original story word for word." Jeffries answered. "Lil thinks she might be our doer." The black policeman continued.

"Why?" Nick frowned at his colleague and friend.

"I don't know. It was just a feeling. We still have to interview Mendoza, once we talk to him we might have a better idea of what happened to Linda." Lilly drank her margarita.

"What do you say to joining us for the interview?" Scotty smirked and asked his teammates.

"I'll pass. I have a date with my bed." Will wasn't convinced even when Lilly accepted to accompany them. "It could be fun come on Will." She tried to persuade the older man who merely laughed and shook his head. "No way Lil. I'm still tired from all that driving I did." He drank another beer and then went up to his room.

By 10:00 PM Lilly was ready. She wore a blue dress, and waited for Scotty and Nick by the pool. Soon the two men went down the stairs. They both wore their regular suits. "Rush, looking hot." Vera whistled at her and she twirled around a little.

"Thank you gentlemen, now let's go get Mr. Mendoza." She grabbed Scotty's arm and they walked to the club.

The place looked nice enough. It was busy, full of Spanish speaking people. "Aren't you glad I'm here." He whispered close to her ear. She slapped his arm and walked up to the bartender. "We're looking for Rodrigo Mendoza." The bartender, an older looking guy ignored her and when she repeated herself he finally said, "No speak English" with an accented voice.

"_Oyeme, estamos buscando a Rodrigo Mendoza_." Scotty asked in Spanish.

"_Ah Roro, ese llega en quince minutos chico. Tu eres cubano._" The older man said in rapid Spanish.

"_Por parte de mi papá, mi mamá es Boricua_." Scotty answered. "_Ah, no importa que vas a beber." _The guy asked. He didn't give Scotty much chance to say anything before he gave him a drink, "_Cuba libre pa ti y los gringos que van a beber_."

Scotty smiled, "He says that Rodrigo will be here in fifteen minutes and he's asking what you're going to drink."

"Whatever he recommends." Vera said and dropped to the barstool. "We shouldn't be drinking we are about to interview a suspect. A virgin Cuba libre please." Lilly said looking at her colleagues.

"Live a little Rush." Vera took a gulp of his drink.

Twenty minutes later and at least four different salsa songs, the DJ gets in. Luis the bartender pointed him out. "That's our guy." Scotty finished his drink and waited for Vera and her.

They made their way through the dance floor and to Mendoza. "Rodrigo Mendoza?" Lilly asked. A black haired, good-looking man smiled winningly at her. "Yes, ma'am."

"Philadelphia Police Department. We need to talk about Linda McCormick." His face changed and the handsome smile disappeared.

"Not this again. I told the police all I knew about that little girl. I just found her in that pool it wasn't my fault." The man became agitated.

"Hey, hey we just want to talk." Vera said trying to calm the suspect.

"No man, you police people never just want to talk. You couldn't blame all those years ago and you won't now."

"Rodrigo, we're just trying to find her killer." Scotty finally spoke. Rodrigo looked at him. "No, you should know how this is. People like them they want us in jail. They almost made me sign a confession back then. They looked at me and they saw a poor Colombian kid who didn't speak much English. If I hadn't had that attorney I would be in jail right now doing time for a crime I didn't do."

"Rodrigo we need to talk. We could do it here or at the station, that's your choice." Scotty said calmly.

"I'll talk to you but I won't talk to them." Mendoza's face betrayed his deep distrust of Vera and Rush.

"One of them has to stay with me Rodrigo." Scotty said firmly.

"The girl." Rodrigo led them to a back room.

"Here's what happened. Linda was sweet. She was a great kid and a great swimmer. I could never understand how she drowned."

"Did you know that her best friend, Laura had a crush on you?" Lilly asked.

Rodrigo tensed. "Yes, but I didn't encourage her. She was always around Linda. I liked Linda, she reminded me of my little sister back in Colombia. I was fifteen and that was my first real job. All I wanted to do was work have money and send it to my mom and Jessica."

"Why didn't you tell the police that you knew Linda as a friend?" Scotty asked while taking notes.

"Are you serious man? They would have locked me up in a second. I didn't do anything to that little girl. She reminded me so much of Jessica I could never harm her.

"What about Laura? Could she have done it?" Lilly asked one more time.

Rodrigo didn't look at her but he made eye contact with Scotty. "You have to understand that we all thought it was an accident but…" He hesitated but decided to speak up.

"I have a restraining order against Laura. About fifteen years ago she came to a bar where I was working and said that we could finally be together. She said she was eighteen and that we were meant to be together. I didn't pay much attention until she became Fatal Attraction crazy. She attacked my pregnant wife, I filed a restraining order and I haven't heard from her ever since."

"Thank you Rodrigo, we'll be in contact." Scotty shook his hand.

"_Hermano, yo no la maté, Linda no se merecía lo que le pasó_. _Tienes que creerme, yo se que los gringos no me creen pero tu tienes que creerme._" Rodrigo said and looked at Scotty as if willing him to believe him.

Lilly looked at her partner who led her out of the backroom. "He says he didn't do it and that Linda didn't deserve what happened to her."

"Let's go to the hotel and check if the restraining order story is true." They walked up to Nick who was talking to a good-looking woman.

"You guys go without me. Shirley and I are having a nice conversation." He winked at Scotty and Lilly shook her head.

They walked back to the hotel, "Who do you think is our doer?" Lilly grabbed his and walked close to him.

"My money is on the best friend. I don't think Rodrigo did it." Scotty caressed her hand.

"Yeah, I have a feeling about this one. I think it was her too."

"Nick won't be happy." Scotty squeezed her hand.

"He'll have to deal with it." Lilly noticed that her partner looked sad.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked. Scotty looked at her and shook his head. "Nah you wouldn't understand." He smiled, but the smile wasn't his regular hundred watts.

"Try me." She said and led him to nearby benches. They sat and watched a group of young women cross the street.

"Something Rodrigo said, he said you have to believe me. I know they won't." Scotty sighed. "Is just, he was right. I've seen it happening, I actually believed him when he said that the cops tried to frame him. It wouldn't be the first time that's happened. He was right Lil, how many times have you heard Boss, Will or Nick talk about back in the day where no one spoke Spanish and people just signed confessions and being prosecuted without knowing what they were doing." Scotty laughed humorlessly.

"That's why we do what we do. We try to make right Scotty." She smiled at him and he kissed her hand. "You're right Lil." Scotty loved her smiles, she was an amazing friend; Lilly Rush could put a smile on his face in matter of seconds.

"Wanna go grab drinks and food?" He asked her and wiggled his eyebrows. She laughed and nodded. They walked for about eight minutes and found a nice bar. The place wasn't crowded; it had a nice vibe or so Scotty thought. "This is all in Spanish." Lilly looked at the menu and then showed it to her partner.

"Yeah, it's a nice change." He laughed at her, "What? It's nice to be ahead of you for a change." She laughed too.

"Help me order." She said and waited for him to translate the menu.

They ordered their food and had a nice dinner. They were having a nice conversation when the music started to play louder. Scotty looked at the spacious restaurant and suddenly couples crowded the dance floor. Salsa songs resounded through the place.

They ordered more drinks and watched some very talented couples dance. They talked about Chris and Rebecca, he couldn't remember the last time he saw them. "Three months ago, when she came and visited. Becky's so big now." Lilly said, Scotty was glad for Chris and the baby. Lilly's eyes sparked when she talked about the little girl.

"Chris is doing well, and I even like her boyfriend. Things are looking up for her." They had both been worried about Chris for a while but she was back on her feet. Rebecca changed her, grounded her, and gave her motivation to stay on track.

A man approached her and asked her to dance. Lilly shook her head and then looked at Scotty. Scotty looked back at the man. He looked normal enough, he was about to encourage Lilly to go dance when the man looked at him and said, "_Sorry chico, oye pero sacala a bailar." _Scotty stood up and pulled Lilly up, "Come on Lil, we're dancing." He smiled when she shook her head vigorously.

"I don't know how to dance to this music." She said vehemently. The man who asked her to dance was long gone. "Don't worry, I'll teach you. It's not as hard as it looks."

Scotty pulled her close to him and moved to the upbeat salsa song. "Move your hips Lil. He placed his hands on her hips and Lilly felt a heat rush through her body. He lifted her arms to his shoulders and moved to the music. Soon they were dancing, and he was spinning her. They laughed; Scotty even sang bits and pieces of some of the songs. She was having the time of her life. After a couple of sets they went back to their table.

Lilly was breathless, "I didn't know you were that good." Scotty pouted. "Of course I'm good at dancing. Lil, I'm half Puerto Rican they practically invented salsa. Ma used to play it in the radio while she cooked and she danced to it. Mike and I have rhythm in our bodies." He said cockily. Lilly laughed a little and nodded at him. "So that's how you charm them. You wine and dine them, you take them dancing and use you Latin lover dancing skills." Lilly said cunningly.

Scotty let out a big guffaw. "No Lil, How many salsa clubs do you think are in Philly. Not that many. I've only used my Latino charm with your white behind." He blew her a kiss and winked at her. For a second there, Lilly wanted to kiss the smirk off his face, but her eyes crinkled and she giggled. This was Scotty her best friend, almost like family.

A slow song started to play; he stood up and dragged her to the floor. "I've heard this song so many times while growing up." He brought her even closer than when they were dancing salsa. Lilly noticed how big his hands felt on her back and how good he sounded as he sang softly into her ear. She liked this, the intimacy, in that moment Lilly decided that she needed to go back into the dating world. She wanted to meet someone again and have an uncomplicated relationship. She wanted to have these moments with someone who desired her. Lilly blushed when unbidden images of a naked Scotty invaded her mind. She closed her eyes and got rid of those thoughts. She couldn't deny that her partner was a very handsome man but she wasn't about to open that can of worms.

Scotty loved the feeling of having a woman close to him, the softness, and the delicacy. Lilly fit perfectly into his arms. He smiled, she would kill him if she knew that he thought of her as this soft, delicate being that he needed to protect. Scotty embraced her even more. He sang softly into her ear. She would have his head too if she knew it was a love song. Everything was worth it as long as she wore that smile on her face.

When the song ended they looked at each other and for a moment there was undeniable spark of something in their eyes. It disappeared when another song started playing.

They left the dance floor, "What do you say we have one last drink and then walk back to the hotel?" Lilly asked winningly.

Scotty led her to the bar and they ordered their last Cuba libres, "_Dos Cuba libres_." Lilly giggled when he ordered the drinks. "What's so funny Rush?" he asked and smirked at her.

"Nothing is just that you are Scotty my partner from Philly but the you speak Spanish and it's like you are this other guy." She said as explanation.

The bartender placed their drinks. "Which one you like more Rush?" he asked playfully.

"Who says I like either of them?" She flirted back.

They smiled at each other and drank their cocktails. The fresh air was very welcome, they were both a little tipsy and walked back hand in hand giggling and talking to each other. They arrived to the hotel; he walked her to her room. "I had a great time, thanks Lil." He kissed her cheek.

"Me too, goodnight Scotty." She kissed his cheek too and went inside her room.

Scotty whistled and walked back to the room he shared with Nick. Empty, Nick must have scored tonight. Good for him. At least one of them was getting some tonight. He chuckled and stripped to his boxers. He didn't want to take a shower, he smelled like Lilly and that was a good smell.


	2. Chapter 2

I don't own Cold Case

Thanks to DPIH, princesshikari99 and zebraboymom for their reviews. Please keep reading and reviewing. Thanks to those of you who have this story in alert, please review too .

Chapter 2

The next morning, Scotty was up bright and early. He felt happy, he wasn't usually this energetic in the morning but last night was a good night. He glanced at the clock; it read 11:00 AM, not so bright and early then. He took a shower and noticed that Nick was still fast asleep with his clothes on. Scotty wore jeans and a black short-sleeved undershirt.

He went downstairs and found Will already sitting by the pool. "Good morning." Scotty said cheerily.

"Must have been a hell of a night for you to be polite and a hell of a woman to bring that smile on your face." Will said pointedly as he drank his coffee.

"Nah, I went out with Lil after the interview." He said. Scotty chuckled when the older man's eyes opened comically. "Not like that Will, get your mind out of the gutter."

"I don't really want to know." Will muttered under his breath.

"Did you have breakfast yet?" Scotty looked over the menu.

"I did, there was no point in waiting for you three. Vera got here an hour ago, he said you and Lil conducted the interview."

Scotty nodded, "he said something interesting about Laura Giffords. Apparently she's obsessed with him…" he related the interview to Will and soon both detectives looked into the restraining order story.

Lilly came down thirty minutes later, she wore another dress. "Looking good Rush." Scotty smirked and winked at her. Lilly slapped him in the arm.

"Thank you Valens. You don't look so bad yourself." She sat down next to him and grabbed his cup of coffee. She made a face once she tasted it.

"_Cortadito_, Rush, Cuban coffee."

"Too strong, no wonder you're so perky this morning." She said while she ordered regular coffee.

"Did we look up the restraining order story?" She asked Will.

"We did. Rodrigo's story checks out. He moved to Florida a few months after Linda's death. He's clean, no record, not even traffic tickets. The sister story seems to be true too. Jessica Mendoza, late twenties, med school lives with Rodrigo, and his family. He has two children, ages 12 and 7.

"This guy checks out and unlike Laura he actually cooperated with us. She is hiding something, why didn't she tell us that she moved to Florida looking for Rodrigo." Scotty mused and put his own hypothesis.

He leaned into the table, "Laura is ten and in love, she thinks Rodrigo is the love of her life. Linda is an obstacle, Rodrigo notices her, likes her because she reminds him of his little sister. Laura doesn't know the full story and thinks her best friend in the world is betraying her. She's our doer."

"We have motive but we still need the opportunity. We should thread carefully. This case is personal for Nick, he knew both the victim and the suspect." Will proposed and then said, "We'll ask her to go down to the precinct and then interrogate her."

The three detectives agreed and waited until Nick woke up to tell him the news. Will and Lilly got ready and went to the station; they would set everything to have the interrogation there. Scotty was in charge of letting either Kat or Boss the latest information.

He called Kat, "How's the Sunshine State treating Philadelphia's finest?" She laughed a little.

"I bet Veronica didn't even have a trip." He said accusingly.

He could hear Kat's chuckles, "Mendoza seems to be clean. His alibi checks out and he gave us more information on what might have been the motive behind Linda's murder." Scotty reported all the information they managed to get out of Rodrigo.

"We'll interrogate her this afternoon, with some luck we'll be back tomorrow or the day after tomorrow the latest." Scotty said.

Kat took down the information and then hung up. Scotty went back into the room and tried to wake Nick. "Nick wake up, we have to meet Lilly and Will at the station." He shook the sleeping detective who grumbled and tried to bat away Scotty's hand.

"Go away Valens." The detective ordered against his pillow.

"We have to go, Vera, we narrowed it down Laura." This information perked Vera up. He sat up and looked sharply at his colleague.

"That can't be, Laura couldn't have she was a kid. She was a sweet kid Scotty, it can't be her." Nick sobered up and dressed quickly.

"Mendoza checks out, he's innocent. Laura lied to us from the beginning. Nick we still have to interrogate her, maybe there's an explanation." Scotty said feebly, they both knew the younger man tried to lighten the situation.

An hour later they were at the station, Nick nursed a black cup of coffee and a tall glass of water with aspirin on the side. "Do we know when Laura is scheduled to be interrogated?" he was still poring over the files; to make sure that the woman was really implicated.

"6:00PM detective Rivera called her earlier and she agreed to come by at that time." Will sat back and read a book. They were pretty much done with the case, they needed to interview Laura and either get a confession or be back at ground zero.

They entertained themselves helping with the phones or checking over arrests until Laura arrived. It was determined that Scotty and Lilly would talk to Laura and get the confession they needed.

The redhead entered the station with her husband, a good-looking Latino. "Laura, this way please." Lilly led her to the interrogation room.

"Your husband is a very good looking guy. How long have you been together?" Lilly asked and sat in front of the young woman.

"Seven years, but we started dating eight years ago." Laura answered with a smile. "We're trying to get pregnant."

Lilly made an encouraging noise and smiled at her. Scotty entered the room, "Does he know that Rodrigo Mendoza filed a restraining order against you?" He slapped a folder in front of her.

"We talked to Rodrigo, is best that you cooperate Laura." Lilly told the woman.

"I was silly, I admit it. I thought I was in love but I was 18 years old. It was stupid and my husband doesn't know. I didn't think it was important to tell him about that." She said nervously.

"You attacked a pregnant woman, that's not a silly mistake. That's assault, almost sociopathic behavior." Scotty remarked harshly.

"I don't understand what that has to do with Linda's death." She stated firmly.

"It has everything to do Laura. You were in love with Rodrigo, that's why you came to Florida. You tracked him down because you loved him and wanted to be with him for the rest of your life." Lilly looked sympathetically at her.

"That's why you attacked Linda, you wanted Rodrigo but he never paid much attention to you. I bet he didn't even know who you were when you came looking for him." Scotty was cold and calculating. "But he remembers Linda, he liked her, they had something back in '87."

Laura became agitated, "No they didn't. Linda didn't even like him. Why did he have to be in love with her? It was supposed to be me. I was prettier and actually wanted boys to notice me."

"What did you do to her Laura? We know you went back to the pool, Rodrigo saw you sneaking back." Scotty bluffed perfectly.

Laura fell for it she looked at Lilly for support. "It's time Laura, you need to tell us what happened to her."

The woman looked pleadingly at Lilly. "I was so mad at her. We fought, it got out of control; I called her awful names and she said I was crazy. She said I was pathetic that Rodrigo would never pay attention to me. I saw red, I grabbed her head and just dunked her underwater until she didn't fight anymore."

"He wasn't in love with her, Linda reminded him of his little sister." Scotty put the confession papers in front of her and she signed them tearfully.

Lilly handcuffed her and led her out of the interrogation room. Nick shook his head; Linda couldn't even make eye contact with him. The husband looked crushed, he tried to get to her but Will stopped him.

Scotty clapped Nick on the back. "I'm sorry man." He said quietly. Nick nodded; he still looked shocked to the core. Fifteen minutes later Lilly came back from the cells. "We are done. The Miami police will take her back to Philly. I left her with the husband. He was devastated. They're talking now.

It was 8:00 PM; Vera called Boss and let him know that the case was closed. At least they got good news out of it. Stillman arranged for them to be back to Philly the next day on a plane, their car would be used to transport Linda. They were to leave Miami in the early afternoon.

Nick still was pretty upset about Laura, "Nick you never told us about your wild night in town. Will tells us you got in early morning." Scotty teased him.

"Nothing especial, I think I might go back and try to get back with Toni." Lilly shook her head. She didn't think Toni would take him back. It was hard to maintain a family life when you were a homicide detective. Kat and Curtis didn't work out and she was still very much single. Scotty wasn't dating at all, Will was very private but she thought he wasn't seeing anyone and well her… it was safe to say she wasn't even trying to get back to dating. That would change though. Lilly promised to herself to try dating once she got back to Philly.

"Let's hit the town tonight." Will proposed, since he stayed back yesterday and he wanted to lift Nick's spirit.

"We should go back to Rodrigo's club, tell him we got Linda's murderer." Nick said, it also happened that he had a date with one of the women he met the night before.

The Philadelphia detectives took the rental car and went back to the hotel. Lilly went up to her room and decided on what dress to wear. She chose a little black dress, one of her favorites. She took a shower and dried her hair. She wore little mascara and her hair down; it had been years since she wore it down like that. She was glad she packed the black stilettos. Lilly checked her cell phone three missed calls from Scotty. She groaned, men were always impatient, especially Scotty.

Three detectives waited patiently or at least two of them did. "I don't understand why it takes her this long to get ready. It's been a hour and fifteen minutes for god's sake." They wore their regular suits, the younger man kept complaining.

"I don't get it Scotty, you should be used to the wait by now. I mean you lived with Elisa didn't you?" Vera asked, he thought that Elisa was safe to bring up and it was Scotty realized years ago that he had to remember his dead fiancé for what she was a vibrant young woman who loved him. He loved Elisa and made peace with her death. "She was always ready before me." Scotty said simply.

"Well she was the exception pal, all the women I've been with take more than an hour to get ready, Julie, Megan, Toni. You name her, they will always make you wait."

"But isn't it worth it." Will remarked and Vera nodded with a smile on his face.

"I'm calling her again, she's bound to pick up sometime." Scotty took out his cellphone from his pocket.

"No need Valens, I'm ready." He turned around and saw her. He smiled at her, "you look gorgeous."

"I'm getting used to the dresses. Don't lose them Lil." Vera stood up and took her arm.

She laughed and they walked out to the club. They were joking around until they got in. Scotty noticed that more men paid attention to his partner and leaned close to her. He didn't like some of the stares she got, or the fact that some of the men blatantly flirted even when he put his arm around her waist.

They met the old bartender by the bar. Scotty and him had a whole conversation in Spanish; Lil heard a lot of Cuba and _oyeme_. She sipped on her drink and talked to Will and Nick who observed the people on the floor dancing. "Scotty is a pretty good dancer." Lil teased her partner who kept talking in perfect Spanish to the bartender.

Nick snorted, "I bet." He drank his mojito and laughed alongside Will. Lil laughed too and Scotty winked at her. Lil dissolved into giggles after that. "The Latin lover charm doesn't work on me Valens. I know you too well to fall for that." Lilly smirked at him playfully.

"That's because I haven't really tried Rush." He came close to her ear and whispered something really close to her ear in the foreign language. Lilly felt a burst of electricity but recovered quickly and laughed along with Nick.

Soon they were having drinks and enjoying themselves, although she wished Kat was here. She went to the bathroom and came back to find only Nick and Will trying to communicate with the bartender. "Hey, where's Scotty?" She smiled when Nick pointed to the dance floor. Her partner was dancing with a pretty brunette. She tried to keep smiling but the fact was that she didn't like how closely they were dancing or the fact that the woman was obviously coming onto him. "Looks like our boy is not sleeping at the hotel tonight." Nick commented to Will.

Lilly quieted the ugly voice in her head that wished that woman wasn't touching her partner's back or moving her front against him. She saw him smiling at the stranger, and it wasn't the usual smile he gave strangers. This was one of the full watt Scotty smiles. The one he reserved for his close friends and family. She drank her shot and continued torturing herself by watching him touch that woman. He placed his hands or her hips and swayed to a fast beat. They were having fun, she smiled provocatively at Scotty and he smiled and pulled her closer. "Kid's got some moves. I didn't know he could dance that way." Will remarked happily. No one would have guessed that she was tense; in fact the only person who could pick the subtle cues on her Ice Queen mask was busily dirty dancing with a pretty brunette.

Lilly watched the couple dance for fifteen more minutes until they came to the bar. Before they got there a man stepped in front of Scotty. They glared at each other. Lil and the other two detectives were ready to back up their colleague when the two men broke in smiles and hugged each other. The trio talked in rapid Spanish, suddenly as if remembering the squad Scotty called out. "Margarita, Jorgito, these are my colleagues." He pointed to the two male detectives, "Nick and Will" he turned to Lil and winked at her. "This is Lilly Rush, my partner." Scotty said quickly.

The Brunette was the first to introduce herself, "Margarita Sandoval." She kissed Nick and Will. She smiled at Lilly and then kissed her too.

"Jorge Sandoval." The big man shook hands with the men and then kissed Lilly on the cheek.

Nick spoke up, "Let's get us a table." They all agreed and settled down away from the dance floor.

"So how do you know each other?" Lilly was dying to know what type of relationship they shared. It was obvious that this couple knew Scotty pretty well. She didn't want to admit it but she also wanted to know what was the deal with Margarita and Scotty.

The woman smiled and kissed Scotty's cheek, "we go way back Scotty and I." She said teasingly.

"Really." Will said eyeing the young detective. "Not like that Jeffries." Scotty smiled and made a face at Margarita.

"They're cousins." Jorge answered, "She was a Valens a couple of years ago." He kissed Margarita.

"So this is the famous Jorgito, the one who works for ICE." Will laughed out loud.

"Hell no man. I'm an immigration lawyer." Jorge said while glaring at Scotty.

"I used your name during an interrogation. Nothing more, I thought you guys were still in Canada." Scotty started and soon it became a Valens catch up conversation. Lilly smiled more and dropped the Ice Queen glare she gave Margarita once she understood her relationship to Scotty. "Are you sure you don't want to stay over at uncle Juan's house? It will be more comfortable." Margarita insisted. She and her husband were staying with friends until they got back to Canada.

"Nah, Maggie you know how he is and aunt Luisa." He rolled his eyes, "She'll start talking about babies and the fact that I'm still single. She'll try to set me up again." Margarita winced, "You're right." She said quickly. Lilly laughed.

"Don't laugh Lilly. You might think it's funny but you haven't met this woman. She is absolutely relentless. She's been trying to find wives for Scotty and my brother for at least seven years. She has it down to a science. "I had to go through horrible blind dates she set up for me." Margarita explained.

Louder music played, Scotty's cousin got up and pulled Scotty with her, "Come on Valens, let's teach my husband some moves." She laughed and dragged Scotty back to the dance floor.

The detectives and Jorge watched as the cousins danced and laughed. " Man, I have to ask you. Aren't you in the least jealous? They are dancing too close." Nick stammered and looked closely at the Hispanic man. Jorge laughed uproariously, "The Valens are the most catholic family I've ever met. Margarita's mom threw a fit when she learned that I was atheistic. They would never get together, and Scotty had Elisa since I met him."

Lilly and the others nodded, "You know about Elisa right?" Jorge asked a little nervously.

"We do." Lilly answered quietly. "How's he doing? We moved to Canada right before it happened. We don't exactly keep much contact. Scotty is always busy with work."

"He's doing fine." Will stepped in.

"Elisa's death, I think it destroyed him, he was never the same but I think he's better. He seems happy now. Is he doing ok?"

"Jorge he's fine now, it took him a lot of time to accept her death but he's doing better now." Lilly was touched by the worry she saw in his eyes.

Scotty and Margarita came back when the slow songs started playing. "Come here Rush." He grabbed her hand and led her to the dance floor. "I don't want to dance Scotty." She smiled when he pulled her close. "It doesn't matter Lil, we're dancing now. I want to dance and I don't think Jorgito would appreciate Margarita being this close to me."

"Are you flirting with me Valens? I told you it won't work." She said really close to his earlobe.

Scotty smirked, "What if I am Rush?" he said teasingly and his fingers danced across her back. Maybe something would have happened then, they certainly had a moment but they were both very much scared and after two seconds of looking into their eyes they smirked to each other. They continued dancing close to each other and Lilly actually inhaled deeply and kissed the side of his neck and cheek. Scotty kissed her jaw too. They were too scared to acknowledge that their relationship was shifting.

Five years ago they were just partners, their relationship was strained because of the Christina debacle, as Scotty called it. Three years ago he was there for her when she was shot and her mother died. A year ago he was there for her when Christina and Rebecca needed them. Scotty found a real friend in Lil. She was there for him when his mother was raped. It was because of her that he didn't do anything stupid. The thought of not seeing her on a daily basis hurt him. He thought that it was because Lilly Rush was like his family, like a sister, but you don't want to kiss and touch your sister. He realized in that moment at the dance floor that he wanted Lilly Rush. Once he felt her lips on his skin he knew he wanted her. "Don't do anything stupid Scotty. Think before you do." He chanted in his mind. He wasn't about to lose his best friend just because he was attracted to her. Intellectually he understood that Lilly Rush was a beautiful woman. He would be lying if he said otherwise but in almost eight years of partnership the thought of having her did not make a conscious appearance on his mind. Now it did, it was there; taking roots and growing like a weed.

Lilly's coping mechanism was denial and distraction. If she didn't confront it then it wasn't there. Out of sight, out of mind. When that didn't work she used distraction. Her job provided her with plenty of it. She was always busy, reading files, conducting interviews, and doing paperwork. If she ignored the fact that having Scotty so close to her excited her, that the way his hands traveled across her back didn't send an electricity current down her spine she could make it. She would go back to Philly and immerse herself on work and date someone. If she had an outlet, these complicated Scotty feelings would go away.

The partners went back to their table and saw their colleagues smirking. Lilly ignored them and Scotty engaged Jorge in a conversation in Spanish. Jorge winked at Lilly. She wasn't sure what the conversation was about but Scotty looked nervous and wouldn't look at her at all. The evening wore on, the detectives talked to Rodrigo; he smiled at them and wished them a safe trip. Scotty and his cousins said their goodbyes.


	3. Chapter 3

I don't own Cold Case

Thank you all for your reviews and alerts. Please read and review .

Chapter 3

The next morning the Philadelphia detectives were ready to board their plane. Lilly saw Nick nursing a glass of water with aspirins on the side. "Morning Lil." He said tiredly. Lilly sat next to him. "Are you sure you can drive us to the airport Nick?" She was concerned for him; he didn't look too good and was gripping the wheel tightly.

"I'm fine Rush, just a long night. I don't think the club scene is for me anymore." Nick grimaced and rubbed his temples.

"I thought you were trying to get back with Toni." Lilly drank her bottled water. Scotty and Will were checking out of the hotel. Their bags were at the trunk. Then they were on their way to the airport. Lilly thought it would be awkward between her and her partner. After the dance they hadn't talked more than two words to each other. Lilly and Will went back to the hotel. Nick took the car and said he had a date. Scotty said he had to do some errands; he walked them back to the hotel. He wished her good night and left. It wasn't strange between them. He carried her bags and was his usual self. It was just like always.

They got to the airport without much hassle. Scotty was on the phone. Lilly almost forgot that today was Sunday and her partner spent Sunday afternoons with his family.

"Yeah Ma, she's good. Aha Jorgito said hi. No mom, I didn't have time to visit Uncle Juan. How was I supposed to know that Miriam was in town? Yes Mami, I bought the cigars, from the little shop down calle ocho." Scotty rolled his eyes and handed Lilly her bags. "Ma I have to go, I'll see you at seven. Love you too."

"Ready mama's boy?" Nick recovered from his hangover and teased Scotty while they made their way to the counter. Scotty glared at him but remained quiet. Soon they were boarding the plane. Lilly chose window and Scotty sat next to her. He was wearing jeans and an old brown t-shirt. He took out his iPod and gave her an ear bud. "Want to listen to some music?" he offered and she smiled at him. He had the Beatles on. "Didn't think you like them." She said surprisingly. "I got a friend, she's been bugging me to download some music." He said rolling his eyes. She smiled and punched his arm.

He smiled back. "That's abuse Rush. You are tiny but you do pack a punch." He said teasingly. Will and Nick heard the exchange. "True that." Nick said in front of them. Lilly chuckled and rested her head on his arm. She hummed to the music and then tried to talk to Scotty but he was out cold, head back and mouth open. She lifted the armrest and, there was no other way for it, cuddled to him. Scotty brought her even closer and kissed her hair. Lil smiled, he was asleep and if anyone asked so was she. There wasn't any harm in snuggling and they were best friends after all.

Scotty woke up because someone was shaking his arm. He opened his eyes; Lilly was cuddled next to him, fast asleep. He looked the other way and found the voice that woke him up. It was the flight attendant. "Sir I need you to put your armrest back in position and wear your seatbelt. The same applies to your wife." Scotty nodded, still a little asleep. He tried to sit up, "Lil, wake up. We're about to land." She breathed deeply and nuzzled his neck. "I don't want to." She said against his shirt. He kissed her forehead and moved her to her seat. Scotty buckled her and rubbed his eyes. She looked beautiful, messy hair and a small pout on her lips.

The plane landed, Nick called Stillman. "Boss says to swing by the precinct and drop all the paperwork and sign some things." Nick grumbled.

"So we all have to go to the precinct." Scotty didn't look too happy.

"Yeah Valens." Nick replied.

Lilly just smiled at him. "Come on I'll buy you late lunch after." She said trying to left his mood.

He shook his head; "I'm having dinner with my parents and Mike's family. I'll just go earlier." Lil nodded and tried to take her bags but Scotty insisted on carrying them.

They paid a cab and headed to the precinct. It was 4:00 PM when they finally left PPD headquarters. Nick and Will went to the parking lot to pick up their car. "Let's go Lil, I'll take you home." He said goodbye to Nick and Will and ushered her to where he parked his car. In front of the station, Lilly tried to grab her bags but again Scotty was faster and carried them to the sidewalk. "Scotty you don't have to. You'll be late for your dinner." Lilly argued, "I'll take a cab to my place."

"Don't worry Lil, your house in on my way." He argued back.

She laughed, "No it's not and you know it." Scotty was very headstrong and managed to get her into the car. He placed her bags on the trunk and closed it. Lilly checked her pockets. "Damn it, I forgot my cellphone." She unbuckled her seatbelt.

"I got it Lil." Scotty said and crossed the street. He was gone for five minutes. Lilly saw him grin and shake her phone in his hands. Neither of them saw the blue car coming at him. They didn't expect it to come so close to the sidewalk. Scotty was almost there by her side when it happened. Lilly's smile froze; one moment he was smiling at her and the next he was on the ground. The blue car sped off. Lilly ran away from the car and saw him lying with his eyes open coughing blood. She dropped to his side. "Somebody help me." She yelled desperately. Lil looked into his eyes and he tried to raise an arm but she stopped him. Her eyes filled with tears and she saw a man with a cellphone calling an ambulance. He coughed more blood and then closed his eyes. "Scotty don't, please Scotty open your eyes." She cried, she wanted to shake him but she didn't want to hurt him. She felt someone push her up. "No, stop let me go." She cried and tried to drop to the floor next to Scotty.

"Ma'am I need you to step away from him. We have to get him to a hospital right away. He needs attention." Lilly stopped struggling. She calmed down a bit and saw as the paramedics carried Scotty's to the ambulance. The detective trailed after them and got into the ambulance with him. "Ma'am you can't come with us." she heard someone say. "I have to be with him please." She cried and held onto the stretcher.

"Very well but you'll have to let us do our job." Lilly nodded gratefully, the paramedics checked his vitals. "Is he going to be ok?" she asked willing the paramedics to tell her that yes he would. That Scotty was only a little roughened up from the crash and that he would go home after a doctor checked on him.

"We don't know ma'am."

They made it to the hospital; Scotty was rushed into the emergency room. Lilly ran behind them. She heard the paramedics talk to a doctor, "Male around his thirties, ran over by a car. Internal bleeding, broken right arm, unconscious when we arrived."

Another doctor led her to a seat, "Ms…?" she asked politely.

"Lilly Rush, and that's Scotty Valens. He's a homicide detective." She said quickly.

"How is he?" she asked her eyes shining with unshed tears. The ambulance ride helped her to calm down. She was back to being Lilly Rush, homicide detective; calm, cold and collected. The redhead doctor smiled at her. "I'm doctor Kepner. He just got here, we need to get him to CT and examine him. In the meantime I need you to call his immediate family."

"But you'll keep me updated right. You'll come back and tell me how he's doing?" There were cracks in her mask because the young doctor offered a sympathetic smile. "I'll come back after we get the results." Lilly nodded and sat back down. She tried to breath and calm down before she made the phone calls. She realized she only knew two telephone numbers by memory. Scotty's and Boss's, she borrowed a phone from the nurses' station and called John Stillman.

She heard Stillman's voice, "Boss, it's Lil. Scotty and me are in the hospital. He got ran over by a car." Her voice broke a little at the end. She wasn't as strong as she thought. All she wanted was someone to hold her while Scotty wasn't here with her. "Boss you need to call his parents. I don't know their number." She said worriedly. Boss's voice soothed her; he asked in what hospital they were in and if she was ok. Lilly gave him the information and then hung up.

She waited thirty more minutes until the doctor came back. "Ms. Rush. Is Mr. Valens allergic to any drugs or anesthesia?"

Lilly frowned, "No. He's only allergic to almonds. Why are you asking? Is there anything wrong?" she asked agitatedly.

The doctor motioned her to have a seat and then sat next to him. "We're taking him to surgery." Lilly gasped and was about to ask a million questions but the doctor intercepted her. "He has a major internal bleeding. We need to locate the source and stop it. I'll take you to the surgical floor."

"But he's going to be ok. You'll operate and then he'll be fine." Lilly said firmly. "He has to be fine. He's young, healthy, and athletic. He runs every morning." Lilly's voice broke again. "He's my best friend." She said to the doctor as if that little fact would make a difference.

"I have to get back, I'll come back if anything happens." She said and left Lilly with her thoughts and anxiety.

She didn't know how much time passed but she felt someone hug her. She recognized the perfume. This was Kat. She looked into her colleague's eyes and nodded at her. She looked to her left and found Nick and Will drinking coffee. Boss came through the door with Scotty's parents. She'd seen them at the station before but they never actually introduced themselves.

Stillman approached her first, "Lil, these are Rosa and Ramiro Valens, they want to know what happened." He said carefully. Lilly couldn't look at anyone in the eyes. She looked straight ahead to a painting in the wall in front of her.

"We were back from Miami. We went to the precinct to drop off the case paperwork and to sign the logs. Nick and Will went to the parking lot to get their car. We went to his car. I wanted to grab a cab and go home." She said slowly as if she was reliving what happened. "I said no, but he insisted and you know how Scotty is." She smiled to herself. He said, "Don't worry Lil, your house is on my way." "But he lied because he said he was going to his parents' for Sunday dinner." He grabbed my bags and put them at the trunk." She wiped her tears. "I got into the car and remembered I left my cellphone on top of my desk." He smiled at me and said, "I got it Lil." "He went back into headquarters and then he was back. I smiled at him; he waved my cellphone." She cried and Kat tried to comfort her but she swatted her hands away. "He he… was on the ground, middle of the street and there was blood and he looked at me." Her voice broke. "It's all my fault. I should have gone back for own dammed cellphone." She said angrily.

Lilly remained quiet after her outburst; Nick offered her a cup of coffee but she ignored him completely. She could hear Boss ask a nurse about Scotty's injuries. Rosa and Ramiro sat down. Lilly could hear Rosa praying quietly. It was as if she wasn't there. She closed her eyes and thought back to their time in the plane. How softly his fingers caressed her hair or how strong his arms felt around her when he brought her closer to him.

Waiting for someone to update them was agony. Mike who rushed to his parents' side joined Rosa and Ramiro; they spoke in both English and Spanish. Lilly kept her eyes closed and remembered Scotty's face and smile. She would give anything to see him smile at her again. Lilly cried silently, she'd never been a religious or spiritual person but right now she begged to whoever was out there, to the universe to please let Scotty be fine. Once again Stillman tried to comfort her but she moved away from the chair into a corner. She sat down with her knees to her chest.

Rosa expected to be in this situation; ever since Scotty became a cop she knew that her son could get hurt. She didn't expect him to be run over by a car. She kept praying. Mike and Ramiro were a mess. They were worriers; Scotty too was a worrier. Rosa appraised the blond woman. She had to be Lilly; her son's partner. The last few months she heard Lilly this, Lil that. Rosa was glad to finally meet this woman. Lilly Rush seemed to be really worried about Scotty. She shied away from physical contact. Rosa had seen two detectives try to comfort her but Lilly coldly refused them. Lilly looked up and Rosa saw all the pain in her eyes. She held her gaze and smiled at her. The young woman looked away from her after two or three seconds.

The redhead doctor came through the doors. Lilly almost ran to her, "Scott Valens. You said you would update me. How is he? Where is he? When can I see him?" Lilly demanded quickly.


	4. Chapter 4

I don't own Cold Case.

Please read and review! Thank you all of you who are reading this story and leaving your thoughts as reviews. .

Chapter 4

The doctor smiled, "He's out of surgery. We located the bleeding. He's out of the woods. He's doing great. He's awake even, he has three broken ribs, his right arm was broken and he'll have to use a cast for a few weeks." Lilly laughed and actually hugged her. "I want to see him." Rosa said quickly.

"He's awake and asking for someone called Lil. He woke up and has been asking about seeing Lil. He told me that if he doesn't see her in the next thirty minutes he's going to get up and look for her. " The doctor said with a huge smile on her face.

"I'm Lil." Lilly gave the doctor a huge smile back and walked with her to Scotty's room.

He looked pale but he smiled at her the moment he saw her. "Hey Lil, are you ok?" he asked softly. Lilly started to cry. "I should be asking you that." She said between tears. "You were ran over by a car." She said as explanation.

Scotty winced, "yeah." He looked at her tear stained face. "Lilly can I ask you a favor?" He said and grabbed her hand. She nodded, "Whatever you want." She said looking into his brown eyes.

"Don't cry ok and don't blame yourself. I'm just fine." He said it seriously and stared at her for a long time.

"That's two favors and it was my fault." She said just as seriously.

Scotty tried to sit up and yelped. "Are you ok? Don't move, I'm calling the nurse." Lilly anxiously said and tried to get into action but Scotty wouldn't let go of her hand. "Promise me Lil, no crying and no guilt." He disarmed her with his stare. She nodded.

"I was really worried Scotty." She whispered, he tightened his hold on her hand and kissed her knuckles. "Don't be anymore. I'll be fine in a couple of weeks." He tried to laugh but held his side, "It hurts." He cried out and pouted. Lilly couldn't help himself she kissed his cheek. "You have three broken ribs." She caressed his hair and kissed him again on the cheek.

Scotty liked this treatment. He liked Lilly touching him. He closed his eyes. "I'm tired Lil, I think I'm gonna sleep now." Scotty closed his eyes; Lilly kissed him one more time and then lay on the small chair close to his bed. She closed her eyes too. Scotty was fine. She let the exhaustion take over and slept.

Ten minutes later Rosa, Ramiro and Mike entered the room. Rosa looked at her son who was fast asleep and kissed his forehead. Scotty stirred, he opened his eyes briefly; "Ma, where's Lil?" he asked and then closed his eyes again. Rosa smiled, and kissed his forehead again.

Mike and Ramiro smiled too. "I thought I would be the one staying with him tonight but it seems Lilly's taken that spot." Rosa said to her husband who kissed her hand. "He'll be fine. The doctor said he's going to make a full recovery Rosa." The mother nodded and glanced at her son one more time before they had to leave the room. There couldn't be more than three people for more than fifteen minutes. The Valens left and in came the detectives who didn't stay for more than five minutes. The nurse came in and asked them to leave the room.

Nick shook Lilly, "Lil, we have to leave, visit's over." The detective grouched over her. Lilly woke up but ignored them. She moved the chair and grabbed Scotty's hand on her and dropped her head to his side.

"She's really shaken." Stillman said to the nurse. "He's her best friend and partner. They've known each other for almost eight years." The lieutenant explained. Not many people understood the bond a partnership had over cops. Outsiders often misconstrued the partnership/ friendship as something more.

"She can stay tonight but only tonight." The nurse warned to the cops. They might fooled by the partnership tripe but she'd only seen that grateful look on people when they were in love. That blond woman, she was in love with her partner.

Scotty woke up slowly a few hours later; he blinked and noticed that breathing hurt. Everything came back to him. He was run over by a car. He has three brokenness ribs, Lil told him. He remembered Lil and opened his eyes. She pulled the chair close to his bed and still held his hand in hers.

He sighed and tried to move a little to give her space. "Lil come on, get up. Sleep next to me. I made room." If there was something that could be said about Scotty Valens is that he was determined. He scooted to the right and was grateful that Lilly was slender. She looked at him and lie next to him in a daze. She rested her head on his left arm and slept on her side, facing him.

The next morning the same nurse and the doctor came in to check on him. Lilly woke up and didn't recognize her surroundings. "Ms. Rush, would you please go back to the chair? I need to examine Mr. Valens." The redhead said.

Lilly moaned and felt a hand against her stomach. Scotty stirred and tried to move. He winced. Lilly bolted away from the bed. "Scotty are you ok?" she asked concernedly. "I'm fine Lil, I'll just have to get used to not move so fast for a few weeks." The doctor interrupted their conversation.

"How are you feeling this morning?" the redhead asked.

Scotty smirked, "like I was run over by a car."

"That's not funny Scott." Lilly said furiously at him and stormed out of the room.

Scotty called after her, "Lil, I'm sorry. Lilly come back please." It was useless. The blond was gone.

"Don't worry Mr. Valens she'll be back. She was really worried about you. I get it that it is a stressful time for you but it is stressful for her too." The doctor said before examining him.

He chose to remain quiet; he would apologize to Lil later if she came back. He sighed, and then asked, "When can I go back to work?"

"Not for a few weeks Mr. Valens. Don't worry you won't be here for the whole time. We'll release to the caring hands of whomever you choose in a few days."

He frowned but opted to stay silent. The doctor finished her examination and left the room. Scotty waited for ten minutes before Lilly made it back with a cup of coffee on her hands. "I'm sorry Lil. I won't joke anymore I swear." He said as soon as she closed the threshold.

She nodded and sat back down, "I talked to the doctor. You're coming home with me after they release you."

He laughed for two seconds before he grabbed his sides and winced in pain, "Lil, I have my own place, I can take care of myself." He grumbled, stupid ribs.

"Well, she said you would need help for a few weeks, until your ribs heal and they take that cast off your arm." Lilly said seriously. "So you're coming home with me," she said with finality. Scotty didn't argue more, he would try his luck later.

Soon it was time for Lilly to go. "You can't stay here Ms. Rush." The nurse said adamantly.

"I can't leave him here." She countered.

"He won't be going anywhere sweetheart. He needs his rest and ever since you've been here he hasn't slept for more than thirty minutes." The nurse led her outside of the room.

"He's sleeping now." Lilly replied as if that rendered the argument closed.

"Yes, that's why you're going home now. He'll be here when you come back. Go home and rest." The nurse closed the door behind her and guided Lilly to the elevators.

Lilly had not other option but to go home, take a shower, eat a sandwich and rest. She didn't realize how tired she was until she crawled into bed with Olivia and Tripod by her side. She scratched their ears and slept peacefully for a couple of hours. Lilly woke up refreshed and ready to go back to the hospital to her partner. She dressed, fed the cats and left for the hospital. She went up to the fourth floor where Scotty's room was and talked to the nurse. "I went home, ate, and slept now you have to let me see him." She said winningly.

The nurse chuckled, "He should be awake now." Lilly smiled back and went inside.

"Lil you're back." He said excitedly. His face broke in that infectious smile of his. She grinned back.

"Yeah, I had to. Remember when I was shot? You were there for me." Lilly kissed his forehead. Scotty smiled.

"I saw Boss today." He said starting a conversation.

"He says I'm on sick pay until either the ribs heal or the cast comes out whichever I prefer." He frowned. Lilly understood him; they loved their job. He didn't know what he would do during his recovery time.

"Lil, I don't think I can handle being unemployed for more than one week." He said honestly. Lil would get it.

Apparently she did. "I'll stay with you. So you won't feel left out. I'll take up my lost hours and vacation time," she said carefully. Lilly didn't want to overwhelm him; fact was that she wouldn't be able to concentrate on the job. She was barely able to sleep away from him today. As soon as she woke up she thought about going back to check on him.

Scotty was very pleasantly surprised, "You'd do that for me?" he asked looking into her eyes. She nodded, "but we're staying at my house." She said once again. "Lil, maybe I should stay with my parents. I don't want to keep your from work. I'll be grouchy and bored." He argued, thinking well about the situation they were in.

"No, I'll do it. I'll take care of you besides your parents have their lives." Lilly retorted feeling unsettled. She hadn't thought about his parents and the fact that they could take care of him. If Scotty left with them she wouldn't know how he was doing. She would go stir crazy with worry.

"We'll talk about it later. Now tell me what else did Boss say?" She changed the subject and they talked until the pain on his torso was unbearable. "I'll call the nurse." Lilly stood up but Scotty grabbed her hand.

"No Lil, I don't want drugs." He frowned but pushed through the pain.

Lilly didn't know what to do. "You're hurting Scotty." She said and squeezed her hand.

She shook his head, "No, come up here against me."

"Scotty your ribs are hurting. I don't think me being against them will help with the pain." She argued.

"Just come here." He said breathlessly. She did as she was told and gingerly rested on the empty space next to him. She faced him, just like yesterday. Lilly did it on impulse. She caressed his forehead and rubbed his temples. He groaned and leaned into her touch. She moved closer and placed butterfly kisses on his face. He sighed, his body relaxed, "I'm feeling better now." he said. She tried to get off the bed but Scotty whined. "Stay, keep talking to me." He knew that Lilly would withhold any type of physical contact after leaving the hospital. She was probably being this touchy feely because he was vulnerable and in the hospital. He would enjoy and take advantage of it until she stopped him.

"Remember the time we went to the park last week?" He said while she continued caressing his hair. "Yeah, we ate hotdogs and sat under a tree." She whispered.

"That was fun, wasn't it? We should do that more often. Just go to the park and relax." Scotty whispered, getting sleepier because of the pain and Lilly's hands on his hair.

Rosa entered the room and found her son smiling on his sleep. His partner caressed his hair and had his eyes closed. "He likes that. He broke his left leg when he was seven. He fell from the jungle gym at the playground. He had so much energy. I used to sing to him and run my fingers through his hair. It was the only way to get him to sleep. I see it still works." Rosa said smiling at Lilly who left the bed quickly. Scotty moved a little but settled back to sleep without muttering a word.

Lilly felt embarrassed. She didn't know how to approach this woman. The detective felt she had been rude the day before when they officially met. She decided to introduce herself again.

She extended her hand, "Lilly Rush, Scotty's partner. Nice to meet you."

Rosa smiled once again and hugged Lilly. "Nice to meet you Lilly. Thank you for being here for my son."

Lilly looked puzzled. "But Mrs. Valens it was all my fault. If I hadn't forgotten my phone none of this would have happened." Rosa led Lilly outside.

"Let's grab a cup of coffee." The older woman said.

They ordered their coffee and sat down in one of the tables. Lilly was quiet waiting for Rosa to set her straight. The older woman had a kind face and Scotty's smile. "Don't blame yourself, we both know Scotty wouldn't have let you go get that cellphone. I bet he didn't even give you time to get out of the car and get it yourself." Lilly nodded.

"My son is like that. He's stubborn, impatient and likes to get his way." Lilly chuckled when Rosa said that.

"I'm going to have very patient with my boy. It's going to be hard to get him to rest during his recovery. I'll have to hire someone to help Ramiro in the store." Lilly decided that was the best moment to tell Rosa that Scotty was going to recover at her house.

"Mrs. Valens, Scotty is staying with me for his recovery." Lilly said confidently. "I have some lost hours piled up. I'll take care of him."

Rosa looked taken aback. She looked at Lilly appraisingly. She thought she would have to take care of Scotty. This girl just told her otherwise. Rosa had a hard time letting go of Mike. Her eldest son had moved away and married. He had his family. Rosa loved Allie but she took her baby away. Scotty was different he was single and even when Elisa was alive he always went to Rosa first. This time was different. Scotty didn't ask for her but for Lilly. She saw Scotty earlier and he assured her that he was fine. He didn't say anything about staying with his partner. Rosa smiled diplomatically. "We'll worry about that later."

Lilly sighed in relief, the conversation was turning south pretty quickly. The detective liked Rosa Valens but Scotty was staying at her house with her, Lilly Rush.

Lilly went in search of a bathroom while Rosa went back to Scotty's room. The older woman wanted to talk to Scotty about his living arrangements. She opened the door and found Ramiro, Mike and Emilio talking to Scotty. Her younger son smiled at her. "Hey Ma, where's Lil? Dad said he saw you both going to the elevators."

Rosa didn't answer right away. She went over to him and kissed his cheek. "She went to the bathroom." Rosa answered softly.

"Is she coming back?" Scotty asked a little too quickly. Mike and Ramiro looked at each other and smiled in complicity. Emilio was oblivious; the almost eight year old kept playing with his Nintendo DS. "I wanted to ask you something _mijo_. Is it true that you're going to stay with her for your recovery? You know I could have taken you home with us." She wanted to know if this was Scotty leaning on a friend because he didn't want to burden his parents.

"Yeah, I'm staying at Lil's" Scotty fixed his gaze to the door, waiting for Lil to come back. Rosa understood that it was too late for her son. Soon he would have his own family with Lilly and he didn't even know it. Scotty had back luck when it came to relationships. Elisa had been both hell and heaven for him. He had been so young when he first fell in love with her. Scotty thought he was going to marry Elisa but she got sick and that relationship went to hell. Her son lived for the short reprieves of time in which Elisa was healthy. He would get this look on his face; hope that the giants were going to stay away for good. It was heartbreaking to see the look on his face when the giants came back on schedule. Rosa saw the look of sadness and relief Scotty had at Elisa's funeral. He went home a couple of months later feeling such deep hate and guilt. He told her that he was relieved that Elisa was gone. "I would have gone back to her _mami_. I know I would have." He said with tears on his eyes.

Ramiro interrupted her thoughts. "Are you sure you want to stay with your friend?" her husband tried to be on her side. But she knew Ramiro was just doing it for her sake.

"Yeah Pops. Lil feels guilty, it's her way of atoning." Scotty rolled his eyes. Mike made some suggestive comments about atonement and taking care of him. Scotty's face changed, his face and voice became hard. "It's not like that. Lil and I are friends. Don't talk about her like that."

Mike quieted and changed the subject to Emilio who became interested in being the first to sign uncle's Scotty's cast. "Please uncle Scotty. I won't even use all the space." The little boy begged. Scotty nodded and made space for his nephew to sit next to him and doodle on the cast.

Lilly entered the room five minutes later. "I'll be back later." She said and tried to close the door but Scotty called after her. "Good you're back Lil." The detective smiled at the Valens. Scotty spoke again, "You know my mom, Rosa." He pointed at Mrs. Valens. "That's my dad Ramiro." Mr. Valens offered her a hand and smiled at her. Lilly shook his hand and smiled back. "This is Mike, my brother and Emilio my nephew." Lilly had seen Mike at the precinct before but it was the first time she met Emilio.

"Hi." Emilio grinned and shook her hand. "Come help me sign Uncle Scotty's cast." He pulled her down next to him and gave her a blue marker. Scotty smiled and looked at Lilly talking to his nephew. She was good with children; he had seen her with Rebecca. Lilly was fierce but when it came to children she softened, became even more beautiful.

"Snap out of it Valens." He thought, soon all of his family would guess that he thought about Lilly as something more than his friend. It was hard to not stare at her when she helped Emilio draw little cars. Two hours later the nurse announced that visiting hours were over. Mike and Emilio left and hour before that while his parents and Lilly stayed.

"We'll back tomorrow _cariño_." Scotty kissed his mom on the cheek and his dad too. Lilly stayed back until they left. "Your mom asked about your recovery." Lilly said quickly. "I told her I'm staying with you." he replied immediately. She smiled and kissed his cheek. "I'll be back tomorrow." She said and smiled at him. He touched her hand and squeezed it.


	5. Chapter 5

Thank all for the reviews please keep it up. this is a short one, please read and review.

Chapter 5

Scotty spent five more days in the hospital. Lilly came by everyday, the squad started on a new case. Lil worked on it too, she decided to maximize all the lost hours she had. When it was time for him to leave the hospital Lilly had everything ready at her house. Scotty would sleep in her room while she took the sofa.

She went up to her partner's room. "Thank god you're here. I was going crazy. I need to get out of this place. I need to feel the sun." He stood up gingerly and walked slowly to her. "Let's go Lil. You'll have to drive us." He was out by the threshold.

"Scotty wait. We have to see the doctor, sign papers. I don't know, say goodbye to nurse Rilley." Lil said while holding a laugh.

"I signed the forms already. Kepner is not here, that's her fault. She gave us the talk yesterday either way. No heavy lifting, stress or active work for at least three weeks. We'll see nurse Rilley at the nurse station." Scotty couldn't stay in the room anymore. He hoped that staying at Lil's would be different because he couldn't take more days of watching soap operas and crime shows all day. Scotty was very popular among the nurses. Nurse Rilley bid them goodbye and reminded Scotty that he had to be back to take look at his arm next week. "I know, I'm so glad. Come on Lil let's go."

Lilly drove them to her house. Scotty was even glad to see her cats. Olivia looked at him and then moved away from him. "I'm happy to see you too Olivia." He muttered. Tripod didn't even acknowledge him. They had dinner and decided to watch TV for a few hours. They watched Rosseane and Bridezillas. "That has to be scripted. She can't be real." Scotty was outraged by the TV show. It became an obsession of his ever since stumbling on it at the hospital.

His partner seemed to be pondering on his statement, "I don't know Scotty, brides can get demanding." Scotty made a face at her. "She just threw a tantrum because the tablecloths were off white and she wanted ivory. There's no difference." He stated. "It is going to be the biggest day of her life." Lilly said simply.

"You have to be kidding me Lil." He looked at her and she smiled a little sadly. "Christina and me used to think about our weddings. I got really close to having mine but you know what happened with Patrick." Lilly said without a trace of pain. Thinking about weddings and Patrick didn't hurt her anymore. She was over that pain. She was just stating facts. Scotty lightened the mood. "You never know Rush, maybe you'll get married someday." Lilly laughed mirthlessly.

"I thought we were lone wolves, being homicide detectives and cops." Lilly teased him.

"That was years ago, but we're not alone. We have each other don't we Lil?" He said smiling widely. She nodded, he kissed her knuckles and they went back to criticizing the merits of reality shows.

By 10:00 PM Scotty was tired and ready to sleep. Lilly helped him change into his pajamas. He managed to put on his pants without help but for the life of him he couldn't get the shirt off his body. "Lil, could you help me?" he went back into the living room to find her with yoga pants and a tank top. He thought she looked stunning without make up and with her hair down. She was arranging the sofa. It looked comfortable enough for him.

"I can't get this shirt off and I need to put this on." He motioned to a black wife beater. Lil nodded and tentatively removed the orange shirt he had on. Lilly looked at his chest and was that a blush? He had to be imagining it; she took the wife beater and pulled it over his head. She helped him and smoothed the fabric over his chest. Scotty's breathing quickened. She was so close and her touch set his skin on fire. They looked into each other's eyes. Fear, they were terrified of whatever was happening between them.

"Call me if you need anything. Olivia and Tripod like to sleep by my feet. Don't be surprised if they walk up to your pillow though." Lilly looked away, she sat back on the couch. Scotty frowned. "Lil what do you mean? I'm taking the couch," he stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Lilly frowned back, "No, you're sleeping on the bed. Scotty, don't fight me on this please." Lil knew him really well. She used her nonsense voice. He decided to approach the discussion differently "Ok, but come with me and watch the rest of Bridezillas with me." Lilly smiled, "I'm happy you see things my way." They went to her bedroom.

Scotty lied down on the bed and waited for Lilly to rest next to him. She turned on the TV. Scotty watched the show and as he expected Lil closed her eyes pretty quickly. He turned off the TV and moved closer to her. Lilly sought his warmth and draped one of her legs over his legs. She snuggled to his good arm. He sighed, kissed her forehead with difficulty but slept peacefully with her next to him.

Lilly was furious the next morning. He enjoyed the quiet moments. She was against him breathing softly and had a smile on her face. When he first met her, she thought she was an attractive woman but not his type. Lilly's blond hair, pale skin and clear blue eyes didn't exactly appeal to him at first. She became his best friend, his rock. Scotty realized that it had been more than five years since he didn't see her everyday or talked to her for at least five minutes.

She stirred and smiled in her sleep. Little by little she stretched like a cat and then opened her eyes. He held her gaze. She looked confused for about three seconds before she frowned at him. "I was supposed to sleep on the couch. You tricked me." She stood up quickly, still glaring at him and muttering about how irresponsible he was. Scotty rubbed his eyes with his left hand. He heard her ranting for about thirty minutes before he exaggerated a wince. She became concerned immediately. "Scotty are you ok? Where does it hurt?" He was glad that the strategy worked. He winced again. "Here Lil." He motioned to his left side. Lilly's concerned eyes met his. She forgot about her previous anger. She helped him to the bathroom and wrapped the cast with plastic so he could take a shower on his own. The nurses taught him how to take quick showers without much help.


	6. Chapter 6

I think people appreciate this story, judging by the amount of views it gets, there's a problem though: lack of reviews. Please review. I'll continue with this story but it's a little hard to write without your motivation guys (wink, wink). Special thanks to and princesshikari99 who reviewed the last two chapters.

Chapter 6

For the next week Scotty was a very good patient. He relaxed watched TV, did his breathing exercises on time and was a pleasant roommate. He was mindful of Lilly and her cats. Ever since that first night Lil slept on the bed next to him. She tried sleeping on the couch but it was so uncomfortable she decided to go back to bed with him. "Maybe you were onto something but wipe that smirk off your face or I'll go back to the couch." She said at three in the morning, her hair rumpled and dark shadows under her eyes.

They established a schedule; they watched TV, lazed around, read, and even played videogames as per his request. Lilly sucked but it kept Scotty entertained. He went to his appointments with the orthopedic doctor and with Kepner. His arm was healing as expected. "Five to six more weeks until he was back to work." Scotty was frustrated when the doctor said that. Kepner healed the stitches on his belly and checked on his ribs. "Scotty, have you been doing your exercises?" she asked suspiciously.

The detective frowned. "I have, tell her Lil." He said defensively.

Lilly nodded her head, "he does them every hour as you requested. Why? Is there something wrong with him?" she asked looking at the doctor.

"No, I just have to ask. You're fine detective Valens, just keep up the good work and you'll be cleared for duty in about seven more weeks." The red head gave him a wide smile.

Scotty frowned, "you said five weeks at first." The doctor kept her cool. "Scotty that was merely an approximation you need rest to heal." She explained softly.

He felt such frustration that he didn't acknowledge her efforts to cheer him up. "I'll see you again in two weeks." Scotty didn't answer. He glared at the doctor, "Lil help me put on my shirt." Lilly nodded and helped him with the black shirt.

The doctor left the room. "You were very rude Scotty." She said firmly. He wasn't in the mood for a scolding. "Lil, I don't want to talk about it." He said just as sternly.

The ride back to her place was tense. He hated being incapacitated. He couldn't do anything but follow Lil's lead. That wasn't him, Scotty Valens did. He was an active man; he ran, played sports, exercised and didn't get hurt. Lilly tried to engage him more than once but he was stone silent. It was easy for Lil; she wasn't the one who had to wear a cast and do breathing exercises. She wasn't the one who needed help bathing, eating, and even dressing.

He entered the house and went directly to the bed. He didn't want to talk to his partner or watch TV. "Scotty it's 6:00 PM, don't you want to have dinner?" She asked softly while crossing to help him out with his shirt.

"No." was his simple answer. He undid his belt, and changed into his pajama bottoms, not caring that Lilly was still in the room. He sighed and settled on his side. The doctor said it would help his ribs heal faster. It seemed counterintuitive to sleep on his damaged side but he was willing to try anything if it meant being him again.

Lilly exited the room. She could tell that he was on one of his moods. She'd known him for years and was aware that Scotty had a quick temper. He could be really nasty when he was sulking. She usually confronted him, gave him the cold shoulder and he eventually apologized to her. That approach wouldn't work now, he was recovering. It wasn't right to fight him. She decided to let him stew and sulk, deep inside she knew she would have to confront him. Scotty was the type to build his anger and could stew for days on end. He would then snap and explode at whoever was near him.

She called Nick and he emailed her some paperwork on the case they were working on. Truth to be told she was working from home. She hadn't told her partner about it because she knew he would want to be involved. Kepner had been adamant about no stress. Lil wanted Scotty to be healthy again, which was her priority.

By 11:00 PM, she showered and went to bed. She turned the AC off. Scotty didn't sleep without that thing on or the windows open. Even with the AC on he kicked covers away from his body. The room was freezing cold, as she expected Scotty managed to keep the sheets away from his body. Lilly sighed softly when her body touched the bed. Her partner turned around and hissed but didn't wake up. He faced her and said something she didn't understand. She looked at him and caressed his sleeping face.

They resisted two more weeks without any incidents. Scotty sulked all day, and it was becoming unbearable to be around him or so Lilly thought. He was increasingly prickly, complaining about being bored, feeling claustrophobic inside of her apartment. Even when they went out he resented the fact that he was restrained to move. Lilly procrastinated because she knew that once he exploded things would get out of hand.

It happened before lunch. He tried to shave on his own. Lilly usually helped him shave. She actually liked shaving him. She could touch his face with an excuse and be really close to him. She could smell him and see his dark eyes burning through her. She heard him curse.

"Fuck." She also heard a crash. Lilly ran to the bathroom and found him trying to stem a bleeding cut he had on his left cheek. "Scotty let me help." She made a move to grab the towel from him but he pushed her aside.

"I don't need your help Lilly." He yelled at her. She jumped, startled at his tone. He never yelled at her before. He growled and rinsed his face. She was hurt but placed the mask in place and opened the first aide kit. "Let me clean the cut." She said coldly. He glared at her, "I don't need your fucking help Rush." He tried to put a Band-Aid over it but was unable to unwrap it.

"Fuck this." He threw the kit to the floor. Lilly grabbed gauze, and iodine. He winced but she cleaned the cut. She placed the Band-Aid and left him alone in the room. She was mad at him, she knew this was the first of escalating incidents that would most likely happen if she didn't stop him. Scotty would start picking fights, she was sure of it. He was prone to that.

She opted to give him the opportunity. She was tired of him behaving like a child. He was rude to her, his parents whenever they visited. He was behaving like a toddler on a major tantrum. He didn't want to talk to anyone from the squad and refused to take their calls.

She ordered pizza and then started to work on a case. She was going back to work next week. She had been out three weeks and didn't have lost hours or vacation time anymore. Lilly left him his pizza slices on the oven. At 5:00 PM he came out of the bathroom and went straight to the kitchen to heat up his lunch. He ate in silence and then looked at her.

"Lil, I'm sorry I didn't mean to…" he started but didn't finish. Lilly kept reading files, until the silence was stifling. She looked up to see his angry face.

"Rush, are you working on a case?" he asked with a growl.

She looked defiantly at him and said, "What if I am?"

His eyes darkened even more, "When are you going back to work?"

"Tomorrow, my lost hours and vacation time are used up." She smiled at him. Lilly knew that would anger him even more. She needed him to explode so that they could finally move on past his childish stage.

"When were you gonna to tell me?" he looked murderous.

"As soon as you stopped acting like a spoiled brat who doesn't get his way." She retorted with the same anger.

"What the hell are you talking about?" he yelled at her.

Lilly couldn't take it anymore. "I'm talking about your tantrums, and sulks. You've been a nightmare to live around. You complain about everything, you're rude to your parents and to me. I'm trying to help you and you treat me like shit"

He laughed, "It was your idea. I didn't want to be here in the first place. You talked me into staying here. I'm sorry I'm such a burden to you. Don't worry, by tomorrow you can be back to your precious cases." He yelled.

Lilly glared at him and didn't answer him. "So that's how it is. You're going to give me the ice treatment. I don't have to take it Rush. I'm out of here." He left the house. She was so angry, that for about five seconds she was glad that he was gone. It was so fast one moment they were arguing and the next he was gone from her apartment.


	7. Chapter 7

Thank you for reading and reviewing. Please keep reading and reviewing

Chapter 7

She remained angry for about thirty minutes, and then the guilt appeared. She shouldn't have let him walk out. He had no money, he was still healing and it was starting to get late. After an hour of waiting she called Rosa Valens.

"Is Scotty there?" she asked as greeting.

"No, why? What happened?" she heard Rosa ask.

Lilly paced in front of her couch. "We had a fight, he stormed out of my house. I thought he would go by your place." She decided to omit the fact that he didn't carry any money or ID with him when he left home.

"Don't worry Lilly. He's probably walking."

Lilly made an agreeing noise and then hung up. She called the squad members, Mike. No one knew where he was. She came up with different scenarios in her head. Him on the middle of street ran over by a car. Him getting shot, bleeding on a sidewalk. Scotty being kidnapped; gagged and beaten by some gang; she even called the hospital. They didn't know anything. Each scenario became more gruesome and improbable by the second. She was at the end of her rope when she heard a knock on her door. He went past her.

"I had time to think. I'm sorry. I'm frustrated. I just want to feel like me again." He said, his eyes remorseful.

She glared at him fiercely, "Where in the hell have you been?" she hissed at him.

"Lil I'm sorry I…" he tried to apologize one more time.

"Where were you?" she asked one more time.

"I was taking a walk. Lil I thought about my attitude and you were right, I'm being an asshole I…"

She didn't want to hear any of his apologies or explanations. How could he be so careless, reckless and plain stupid? She turned around and went into the bedroom.

He felt like the biggest idiot on the planet. After storming out, he had time to think about his behavior and the way he treated Lilly during the past few weeks. He was a pain in the ass. She went out of her way to help him, make him feel comfortable but he didn't appreciate her. He behaved like a three year old.

Scotty waited until she cooled off. He could hear the shower running and decided to give her space. Lilly didn't come out. He took another shower and joined her in the bed. He thought she was sleeping but Lilly turned around, her back to his front. Scotty sighed, "Lil, I'm sorry ok. I'm just frustrated and tired of not being able to do anything on my own. I'm sorry I snapped at you. You've been very helpful and I'm grateful for all you've done for me. It's fine that you're going back to work. I don't mind." No answer from her, not even the slightest sound came from her.

"Lil, please just talk to me." He touched her shoulder and she moved away from his grasp.

"Forgive me Lilly, please." He begged her. He moved close to her. Lilly didn't move so he stayed there.

It was 4:00 AM, it hurt to breathe, and he opened his eyes. Lil was crying on the foot of the bed. Her small body shook from the silent sobs. "Lil, what's wrong." He sat up a little too quickly and his ribs protested. She just shook her head. Scotty hugged her. She hugged him back and cried into his neck. He didn't like this. "Shh, what's wrong did you have a nightmare? _Mi Cielo, cariño_ You're scaring me" She kept crying and she hugged him to her.

"You were dead. I was so scared when you were gone. Scotty why would you do that to me? Why would you leave me like that?" She sobbed helplessly.

Scotty didn't care that his torso was on fire. He felt like the biggest douche bag. "I'm sorry _Cielo_ I didn't mean to go like that. Forgive me Lil." She nodded. "It's not all about you Scotty don't scare me like that again." She kept her arms around his neck and quieted a little. He rubbed circles on her back; he put his hands inside her shirt. She did the same thing to him. Scotty loved to feel her soft skin under his fingers.

"I'm so sorry _Cielo_." He kept muttering against her ear, he rubbed circles on her back. She didn't wear a bra, she seldom did. Scotty knew that their friendship lines were becoming blurrier and blurrier but he didn't care. He couldn't imagine not being with her like this.

Lilly's eyes were heavy; she enjoyed tracing patterns on his back and also enjoyed him rubbing her back. This was pure comfort, she couldn't think about boundaries right now. Not when his hands felt so good against her skin. She needed him. He always made things better. Ever since being a child she had suffered from incredibly vivid nightmares. Scotty chased them away. He would nuzzle her neck or say something in Spanish and she would come back to reality. He spoke in his sleep, in Spanish. She told him that; she learned that Rosa and Ramiro spoke only Spanish at home while they were growing up. "They learned English at school, it was our job to teach them Spanish." Ramiro said proudly.

She calmed down but didn't want to leave his arms. Scotty managed to move them to the middle of the bed and leaned down until they were both comfortable. She kissed the side of his face and slept.

Lilly went back to work that next morning. Scotty and her didn't talk about the night before. They continued with their routines as if nothing had happened. There wasn't any awkwardness. Lilly often came back early with armful of cases and files so that they could review them together. She couldn't leave Scotty entirely out of the loop. They grew closer together. They were in perfect sync, Lil felt happier than she ever had before. Scotty was slowly healing, Christina and Rebecca were doing fine and she just had dinner with her dad the other day. They weren't really close but their relationship was becoming stronger. He tried to be involved in her life and make efforts to be in Lilly's life.

Scotty was cleared for desk duty by his sixth week. The cast came off and he was able to join the squad again. He wore a great smile. He had a suit on; Lilly helped him with his tie. He knew how to do them but he let Lil do it for him. He enjoyed when they were like that face-to-face, close only a couple of centimeters apart from each other. She chose a forest green tie for him. He smiled at her and kissed the side of her face. Ever since that night when they held each other they had been more affectionate with each other. Scotty knew they would have to stop in front of the squad. They didn't need homicide detectives thinking they had something going on. He knew that they wouldn't understand the type of friendship Lilly and him had.

He went through the metal detector. "Look who's back Scotty Valens in the flesh." Will hugged the younger man.

Nick smiled from his desk, "how are you feeling man?" he walked up to Scotty and shook his hand.

"It's great to be back. I was going crazy without work. The sight of my desk brings tears of joy to my eyes." He half joked.

The detectives laughed. Lilly went to her desk. He smiled at her and then went into Boss's office. "Hey Boss." He said opening the door.

Stillman smiled at him, "Scotty you're back. Good. Are you up to some interviewing?" Scotty nodded vigorously. Boss gave him an address. "Kat is on her way already, meet her by the house." Stillman gave him last minute directions and he was off to work.

Kat was glad to see him back at work. "I have to say, I was hurt when you didn't return my calls. But Lil did tell me that you were a mean bastard for a couple of weeks."

Scotty laughed good-naturedly. "I was, Lil had the patience of a saint during those first weeks."

They talked to Mary Craig about her sister's murder; it was great to be back. Scotty really missed being involved in a case. It was like going back to life. He was enthusiastic about paperwork for god's sake.

Kat and him talked some more on the drive back to the precinct. "It must feel great to have your independence back. Back to your own place, your space; I remember when I gave birth to Veronica and I had to move back with mom for a couple of months" She made a face, "don't get me wrong, mom was helpful but there's nothing like being on your own.

"Yeah." Scotty's breathing increased. He hadn't thought about going back to his place. There was no excuse for him to stay over at Lil's anymore. He had medical clearance. The cast came off yesterday. He was fine, he didn't need her help anymore.

When they got back to the precinct it was lunchtime. Kat rushed to the break room. "You started without us. Vera you had better not taken my shrimp." She grabbed her plate and some food for herself.

Scotty sat next to Lilly and shared her Chinese carton. Vera and Stillman looked at them when Lil offered him a plate of his favorite noodles and passed him the soy sauce. "What?" she asked them.

"Is just that you already had his food ready for him." Nick said.

"So what? She does that all the time. I do it for her too." Scotty ate his noodles and took some rice from her plate.

"That's just too much sharing." Will said when Lilly drank from his soda cup. She laughed at them. Scotty shrugged and continued with his food.

They talked about the case at hand, thinking about motive and the fact that they only had a likely suspect so far. Vivian Craig didn't have any enemies according to her sister and the only violent person in the teacher's life had been an overprotective and invested boyfriend.

When it was time for them to go home both Lilly and Scotty tensed. They used her car to go home. It was quite late, Lilly showered and slipped into the bed sheets. He showered too and turned on the AC. "You'll catch pneumonia." She said halfheartedly. He insisted on the AC, his argument was that it was too hot during the summer to not have it on.

He didn't answer; he slipped next to her and remained quiet. She was the first to approach the subject. "Vera said that you would be glad to finally be on your own." Lilly didn't look at him.

He came closer to her, and rested a hand over her torso. "Kat said the same thing." He answered.

"You should go back to your own place." She said trying to not sound sad about the idea of him leaving her house.

"I probably should. I'll do it tomorrow. It shouldn't be hard at all. I only have two duffel bags worth of clothing here." He said while tracing patterns all over her covered belly.

"Yeah, you're still paying rent and you're fine now." She said rationally.

Scotty whispered his assent but held on to her a little tighter. He smelled the skin of her neck and boldly put a leg over hers. If this was going to be the last time he spent time like this with her he would make the best of it.

They went to work together but at the end of the day he went to his apartment. They said goodbye at the front of headquarters. She kissed his cheek, "I'll see you tomorrow." She said softly and hugged him tightly.

"Yeah, want me to pick you up?" He leaned into her embrace. He thought it would be easier to stay way from her. It wasn't. He had been dreading going back to his apartment the moment he entered PPD.

"No, you should get your own car and start to drive again." She grinned and hugged him again for one last time.

Scotty walked her to her car and waved when she drove away. Scotty walked home. He reached for his keys and went up to his apartment. His mother kept the apartment clean. Her and Lilly picked his clothes and other things and dropped it at Lil's place.

The apartment felt cold, foreign. He went into his kitchen and opened the fridge. Mom had stocked it, he knew because even before the accident he didn't have much. He rubbed his face and went to his living room. It didn't have any cats. He never thought he would miss Olivia's patented glare or Tripod's yowls.

He undid his tie, removed his shirt and dropped to the bed with a thud. It felt good to not care about his ribs or arm. He felt no pain; it was as if the accident hadn't happened. Dr. Kepner said his ribs were as good as new. He closed his eyes and tried to relax. He turned on the TV and let the sounds from it lull him to sleep. Lil and him had been the last to leave the police department. Scotty rolled over and pressed his head against his pillow and tried to shut down his brain.

He succeeded and slept for about an hour before he rolled to his side and hugged air. He expected to find Lil by his side. He expected her warmth against him, her smell and softness. He woke up confused, "Lil." He called her. She wasn't there; the pillow didn't smell like her.

Scotty sat up, he sighed and then went into the bathroom to take a shower. It usually helped him sleep. He contemplated calling her but decided against it. He didn't want to crowd her. Lilly had been a real friend to him; she deserved to have her home back to her. "Pull it together Valens. You can do this." He finished his shower, and went back to bed with his boxers on. "At least I can sleep on my underwear now." it was an empty consolation.

He didn't sleep after the shower. He exercised, took a shower again, played videogames, even read a book Nick recommended him. It was useless to try to sleep at six in the morning; Scotty calculated he got three good hours of sleep. He shaved, changed clothes and drove to the precinct.


	8. Chapter 8

Thank you for the reviews. We've increased from four each to five now. That's progress…

Please keep reading and reviewing. Don't forget review, even if you don't write them in English. I'm fluent in Spanish and know a little Portuguese, French and Italian. .

Chapter 8

Lilly didn't fare any better. As soon as she got home she turned on the TV and read the files. She wanted to further exhaust herself in order to get sleep. She slept on her side. Before Scotty she used to sleep in the center of bed, she tried to do so again but she couldn't. She turned to his pillow; it smelled like him. She threw herself over to his side. It wasn't enough; she missed his arms around her. His breath against her neck or his sleepy voice telling her things she didn't understand. She tried counting sheep, reading about the case again. She drank warm milk, but she couldn't sleep at all. It was almost 4:00 AM when she closed her eyes and got fitful bouts of sleep. She looked in the mirror and saw her tired reflection. It was seven thirty in the morning. She had to be by the office at 9:00. Lilly decided to get an early start, be at work early.

She looked like crap. She wasn't supposed to feel this exhausted. Lilly had gone days without sleeping for more than three hours. She was Lilly Rush, she realized that since Scotty had slept over that first time she had gotten more than seven hours of uninterrupted precious sleep. She went through the security at PPD and went straight to their floor. She thought she would be the first one there, she usually was but Scotty was already there with cup of coffee on his hands.

He was making phone calls, he looked rested, and she felt a twinge. He was supposed to be as exhausted as she was. He was supposed to miss her.

Lilly continued with her workload. Scotty and her interviewed people surrounding their case and things were just like always. They joked around with Will and Kat about the fact that Toni still wasn't responding to Nick's charming ways. "Face it Vera. You screwed up, move on." Kat said honestly.

"No, I love her I really do. I'll try anything, I can't be without her." Nick was past caring what his friends thought. He had been pining over Toni ever since he came back from Miami. He went to her house, talked to Andre and found out she wasn't seeing anyone.

Lilly thought it was sweet that Nick wanted to get back with Toni. Maybe this was his chance to be happy with someone he loved. Scotty drank his coffee, he looked tired now, and Lilly couldn't ask him any questions. Stillman divided the workload between Kat, Scotty and Vera. They would be conducting the interviews and interrogations for the day. Will and Lil were in charge of checking the paperwork and looking to any other piece of information that could shed some light into Vivian Craig's murder.

Nick and Scotty left the interrogation room with a handcuffed man. She was glad they had their doer. She couldn't look through the victims' phone record for any longer. She wanted to go home, curl up on her bed and sleep. She was sure that she would sleep now. She even had a headache from lack of sleep.

She read the confession and signed the last bit of paperwork. Scotty and her carried the boxes to the storage room. Lilly wrote closed on the box. "I'm beat." He said yawning. She agreed with him. The idea of going back home without him didn't appeal to her. She wanted to rest but the detective knew that she would get home and have another night of insomnia or with luck fitful bouts of sleep at best.

Perhaps that was the deciding factor; "Maybe we could have late dinner at my place. I still have that leftover shredded beef stew your mom brought us." Scotty smirked. "You mean _ropa vieja._" His eyes lit up. You could make Scotty happy with food. He loved to eat, it was a good thing that he jumped rope and ran frequently. Lilly smiled, "yeah that."

"Count on me Lil, but we'll take my car, I ain't driving that thing you call car." He joked with her.

She punched him lightly on the arm. He fake winced and grabbed her shoulders. "I'll drive my own car. You can follow me Valens." Scotty nodded. It made sense; he did have to go back to house after all. Lilly had to go to work tomorrow, she needed her car.

Lilly opened her door and let him inside. Olivia and Tripod ran past him, meowing at Lil. "I'm glad to see you too." He called after the cats ignored him. Lilly saw him shrug off his tie. He undid the first buttons of his shirt and went straight to the fridge for the beers they bought last Saturday. Lilly got the food out and put it on the microwave. They ate it pretty fast, well he ate most of it, she wasn't really hungry. Scotty put the dishes on the dishwasher and they went to the living room to watch some late television. She didn't want him to go, Scotty hadn't mentioned leaving yet so she chose the longest movie on Netflix.

She lay down on the couch, her head on his lap. They were used to that, they watched "The Godfather", the second movie. Scotty and Mike watched the first one last week. They wanted her to appreciate the films, but it was all lost on her. Her eyelids grew heavier and she enjoyed his hands caressing her hair and face.

Scotty concentrated on the movie but soon exhaustion took over and he closed his eyes. He woke up after a loud sound came from the TV. He sighed and felt Lilly stir. He didn't think about twice. "Lil, come one. Let's go to bed." He pulled her up and they sleepily made their way to the bed. Scotty was still addled with sleep. He removed his shirt, undershirt and slacks. He turned on the AC and waited for Lil to join him. She came back from the bathroom with her pajamas on. She shivered and lay on his chest. He kissed her face and put his hands under her shirt. She moaned, nuzzled his neck and went right to sleep. He kissed her fair hair and slept too.

She moved slowly to her right and was met with Scotty's sleeping form, he faced her, and he looked peaceful. He looked like the boy Rosa showed her the night they brought Scotty's clothes from his apartment. There weren't any worry lines, or frowns on his face. He wore a smile; Lilly realized she wasn't having friendly thoughts exactly. She traced his eyebrows, nose and lips. She went lower to his chin and neck. He turned on the AC yesterday and had a sheet covering his waist. He wasn't wearing his usual undershirt. Lilly had seen his chest before but it was always fleeting. She'd never had the chance to observe him without his scrutiny. She admired the bronzed skin, the trail of hair on his chest. She felt desire running through her. It wasn't the first time she entertained sexual thoughts about her partner. The proximity between them had increased to the point that they were both very comfortable with each other in situations like this. She was sure she undressed and changed clothes in front of him yesterday. Lilly pressed herself into him and caressed the nape of his neck with her fingers. He breathed deeply and hid on her neck.

"Wake up Scotty, you have to go." She whispered. He grumbled and touched her back. She could feel his morning erection against her thigh. It thrilled her to feel it against her, hot and heavy. "_No Cielo, todavía no_." Lilly continued running her fingers through his hair. Scotty had called her _Cielo_ when he was on the verge of sleeping or when he was dreaming. He never said it awake. She asked him about it but he said he didn't understand her pronunciation. She paid close attention to how he said it, maybe she could ask Rosa or Mike what it meant.

He opened his eyes, "Hey Lil." He smiled and kissed her cheek. She cherished the contact. "What time is it?" He asked rubbing his eyes and moving away from her. Lilly's guessing was right; he was only wearing his boxers. "6:45." She answered and stood up to. She had to take a shower and go to work. "You go first, I have to feed the cats and have breakfast." Lil knew that her partner wasn't going home, he didn't have time for that. "Lil do I still have those suits here?" he asked and went straight to the bathroom, not bothering to cover himself.

"Yeah, they are by the closet. Don't use up all the hot water Valens." She called after him.

Scotty showered, dressed and joined Lil at her kitchen. She was eating cereal and had a glass of orange juice by her side. "Where's the coffee Rush?" he asked looking for it.

"You'll have to make it yourself." She answered pleasantly. Scotty made a face at her and drank from her juice. He grabbed the cereal and some milk. Lilly drank the rest of her juice, "I'm late. I still have to shower and dress. I'll meet you at headquarters. Close the door when you leave." She kissed his cheek and ran to the bedroom. Scotty wanted to wait for her but it didn't make any sense since he had his own car. Undoubtedly Lilly would drive her car; he rinsed the dishes and grabbed his car keys.

They saw each other much later. Scotty and Will were on a field search, interviewing a witness. Lilly was due to be in court testifying. That night they went their separate ways. Needless to say that neither of them got much sleep. This pattern continued for about two weeks. Lilly and Scotty still had a strong friendship but there was a silent agreement. They were trying to go back to what they were, good friends that took care of each other but could sleep without each other. Scotty had some clothes over at Lilly's and it was hard to not give into the temptation of staying over at night. Lilly kept them in hopes of him staying the night. They saw each other everyday from 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM. The problem was after they had to go home. It was obvious that they weren't getting any rest. Scotty was jumpy, testy to anyone but Lil. Lilly didn't have much energy. Vera and Miller commented that both detectives seemed on edge.

"I wonder what's with them. Do you think they're hiding something?" Kat suspiciously looked at Scotty who cursed under his breath when the printer jammed. Nick made an agreeing noise. "I don't know, maybe it has to do with Rush's sister. They behaved like that when she disappeared on them." They decided that it had to be that.

It was a Friday, Stillman called Scotty to his office, "Scotty I need to ask you something." Boss said and Scotty nodded, "Sure Boss, fire away."

"What's going on with Lil?" Stillman said. Scotty drew blank as far as he was concerned Lil was fine. "What do you mean Boss?"

Stillman motioned for him to have a seat. "Is everything fine with Lil's family?" Scotty nodded, "yes, Chris and Becky called her the other day. Chris is thinking about spending Christmas with Lil."

Boss gave him a look, "are you guys having any problems?" Scotty laughed, "We're great boss." Scotty answered truthfully.

Stillman wasn't deterred, "you both look tired all the time. You're jumpy, aggressive and Lil doesn't have any energy." The older man looked at him once again.

"I don't know what to tell you." All Scotty knew is that he was jumpy and aggressive because he wasn't getting any sleep. He tried everything but it was useless. He missed her but he wasn't about to tell his boss that.

"Scotty, this is not interfering with your jobs yet but it will. I'll have to suspend you both if it does, so I recommend that you fix this as soon as possible. I would have this conversation with Lil but I know that you will relate our conversation to her." Stillman was perfectly clear. Scotty stood up and left the office.

Once again they were the last to leave the office. "You look tired Lil, I'll drive you home." Scotty said and grabbed her arm. "I didn't bring my car today, it broke, you were right about whatever you found wrong." She said sluggishly. Scotty couldn't believe he hadn't seen it. Lil was just as tired as he was.

Scotty nodded and led them to his car. He drove at speed record time. As soon as he entered her house he felt peace. "I have some beer if you want," she said before going into the bedroom herself. He didn't pay much attention, he felt sleepy all of the sudden. The last days caught up with him, he had been living off of caffeine and booze in order to keep up. Scotty followed her to the bedroom. He dropped his jacket and tie on a chair nearby her bed. Lil was in the bathroom, no doubt either showering or removing her make up. He undid his shirt, his pants and settled on his spot. Lilly came out, her face was scrubbed clean.

"Why are you on my bed Scotty?" She asked softly.

"Change your clothes." He said tiredly, he ignored her previous question. Lilly didn't want to argue because she picked up her flannel pants and a blue tank top. She went into the bathroom and then dropped next to him. He embraced her, squeezing her and dropping a few kisses on her hair. "I can't sleep, I've tried everything, even some pills but nothing works." He knew he had to take the first step.

"Me neither, Scotty." She sighed when he nuzzled her neck.

"_Cielo_, what are we going to do?" he asked softly, he couldn't stop calling her that. He rubbed her belly and tanged his legs with hers.

"I don't know Scotty." She placed her hands over his and enjoyed his skin against her body.

The next morning Scotty woke up refreshed, he checked over the watch and realized it wasn't morning at all. It was almost 3:00 PM. Lil head was on his chest; she looked so beautiful. They were in trouble; Scotty got the best sleep he'd had in weeks. It wasn't right however, what they were doing. He couldn't sleep with her like this all the time. They each had their own homes, he thought about what they would do. How to solve this problem, Stillman was very clear about suspension if they didn't get it together.

He looked at her sleeping face "_Mi cielo_ why couldn't we just stay friends. When did we become this? At which point?" Scotty often wondered this; they were a great team, and friends. They didn't need a romantic relationship complicating what they had. Scotty was too afraid to change what they had. He would have to find a way to work it out. He knew Lilly felt the same way, their friendship was more important. They were both horrible at relationships; he was prone to choosing wrong girls and messing things up. Lilly, well to be truthful Lil sabotaged her own relationships. When he first met her Kite and her had been going strong. Lil put work over Kite and they were over. She chose Ray over Joseph. He never liked Joseph or Saccardo for that matter. Eddie wasn't good enough for her.

Scotty felt her shift against him. He knew she was awake. Now or never he thought, "afternoon Lil." He said, his voice still raspy from sleep. Lilly whispered something and moved to her side of the bed. "I'm hungry." She said out of the blue. Scotty decided to follow her lead for now. "Me too. Do you want to eat out?" He asked. They needed to discuss their situation.

"I'll be ready in thirty minutes." She walked to the bathroom and closed the door. Scotty found a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. He wondered how many clothes he had in here.

True to her word she was ready on time. They drove to a bistro they both liked. They ordered their food; while they waited he approached the subject. "Lil we have to talk about this." He said seriously. Lil's face tensed immediately. "About what?" she asked trying to use her casual voice. She avoided his gaze and glanced at the menu once again.

"Would you please look at me?" he asked and lowered the plastic menu. She looked at him, she looked afraid, "Boss talked to me, they've all noticed we are not acting normal. Lil I ain't sleeping, yesterday was the best sleep I had since that night I crashed at your place. The night before that was a nightmare. I know you ain't sleeping either." He said honestly.

She stared at him but didn't say anything. "I don't know, maybe we should see a shrink. This ain't healthy Lil. I used to sleep just fine before the accident. Now I can't." he was suddenly frustrated with her.

Lilly talked then, "no shrinks, I did my sessions, they don't really help much Scotty. They didn't help me. I still had nightmares. I've had night terrors and nightmares since I was a child. They stopped when we started sleeping in the same bed. I don't know what to do Scotty what do you want to do?" She was at her wit's end.

"This is affecting us, not only at a personal level but also professionally Lil. I can't even remember the name of our victim, that's how sleep deprived I am. We have to do something." Scotty wanted to talk about the fact that they were past beyond friendship at this point.

Lilly nodded and bravely looked into his brown eyes. Scotty lost himself in her clear blue ones. "Would it be so terrible if you moved back with me?" she asked.

His heart was beating wildly on his healed ribcage. "Would we sleep on the same bed?"

She looked scared and fragile, "Yes." She said once again trying to avoid his gaze.

"Lil, you're my best friend. We both know that we're stepping on dangerous territory. I don't want to lose you." He said, he was scared too, Lil's reaction to all this terrified him. She was fidgety, avoiding eye contact, jumpy even. He grabbed her chin and looked directly into her eyes.

He waited for her answer. He searched her face and finally she gave him the eye contact he needed. "I know that Scotty, I trust you and what we have is not precisely conventional. I don't want to lose you either." She looked just as desperate as he felt. He didn't want to think ahead. He just wanted her to look well again. They would have to deal with the consequences later but right now it felt right to be with her. He kissed her hand. "So how do we do this? Am I keeping my apartment or are we committing to being roommates?" He teased her and smiled at her.

"Is your lease up yet?" she returned his smile and for the first time since their lunch her eyes sparkled with life. He kissed her hands again.


	9. Chapter 9

I don't own Cold Case.

Please read and review, I appreciate those of you who have taken time and reviewed this story. Let's try to increase the review count.

Chapter 9

Scotty moved to Lil's that weekend. He would keep the apartment until the following month. They decided to put some of his things on storage. Lilly surprised him when she insisted that they redecorate her house with some of his things. He accepted. They were happier; everyone at work noticed a change when they came back that next Monday. They looked rested, and had the easy banter they always had. They didn't tell anyone about Scotty's address change. It was highly unlikely that anyone from the job would go to his apartment. Him and Lilly practically lived at the precinct. Scotty's parents never visited, he was the one who went back home for Sunday meals and other family reunions.

They hit some rough patches; Scotty didn't care too much for Olivia or Tripod. He complained that they hated him. "Olivia scratches me whenever I come near her and Tripod yowls murder when she sees me."

Lilly felt close to him, the attraction she felt for him wasn't diminishing. Proximity increased her desire for him. With each passing day they crossed more and more boundaries. Every night she felt his heat, his arms around her. Scotty cuddled. They would sleep on their sides but as soon as he fell asleep he rolled to her side and pulled her close to him. Scotty would nuzzle her neck and pull a leg over her hip and just sleep. Lilly consciously tried to move away from his grasp. He was kind of a heavy sleeper. She scooted closer to the edge but ten or twenty minutes later he would seek her again.

Eventually Lilly gave up; she would lie if she said she didn't like the feel of his body against hers or his rough hands caressing her stomach. She did her best to not roll over whenever he moaned close to her ear. She became used to his touches, to his shirts on her wardrobe. She liked having him around to carry grocery bags and do all the heavy lifting for her. She liked that Scotty could cook, well at least better than her. All in all the pros of having him around outweighed the cons. Sure Scotty watched sports at random times and didn't seem to think he had to pick up after himself but still he was funny, kind and helped her with the chores when she gave him the evil eye as he called it.

December came before they expected it. Scotty was in the shower when Lil received a call from Rosa. She picked it up. "Hey Rosa." Lil finished taking out the trash.

"Hi Lilly, I want to talk to you about Scotty's birthday party." Scotty's birthday was next week. Rosa wanted to do something big for him. She had been driving Lilly crazy for the whole week. The event was to take place next Saturday. Lilly was in charge of driving him to the Valens' house. "Yes, I know what I have to do Rosa. No, only those six people." Nick and Kat had dates for that party.

"Rosa I have to go. I have something on the oven." She said and said goodbye to her partner's mother. Scotty was singing something she didn't understand. He came into the kitchen where she was drying the dishes. She felt his arms around her and his soft voice singing something in slow Spanish. "Dance with me _Cielo_." He turned her around and they swayed to imaginary music. He sang in her ear. Lilly closed her eyes. She could almost feel that they had something real. It was becoming harder and harder to ignore that part of her who wanted more. She pressed her cheek against his shoulder and enjoyed herself.

"What brought this on?" she asked smiling when he grabbed her hand and took her to their bedroom. "I have a surprise for you." He said happily. "Remember when you skyped Chris and Becky yesterday." Lilly nodded, she was looking forward to seeing Becky but Chris's boyfriend had to move to California because of his job. Chris wouldn't be able to come to Philly.

"I got you a plane ticket and three days off from work." Scotty said. "Gimme some sugar _Cielo_." He gave her his biggest smile and she hugged him. "But what about Boss? He said we were swamped with work." She was so excited.

"I traded some favors with Will and he gave you his lost hours. I'll have to work on Christmas Eve too." He said nonchalantly.

"What about your family? You always spend Christmas with them." She still hugged him. She knew how important this holiday was for him.

"I promised them Christmas day, not the same but they'll have to compromise." He kept smiling at her.

Lilly kissed him on the cheek, "Thank you Scotty. You don't know how much this means to me." It would be the first Christmas that she spent with Becky and Chris as a family. Lil and Chris were trying to build their relationships with small steps.

They were interrupted by a phone call. Vera called Scotty to let him know that their key eyewitness committed suicide. Forensics refuted the assessment; William Sweets was murdered. Scotty and Lil went back to the precinct.

Scotty didn't especially liked birthdays. It wasn't his thing, his mom always insisted on parties every year until he was eighteen. He just didn't think it was such a big deal. He woke up that morning and was glad that it was a Saturday. He could sleep in all day; he knew it wouldn't happen though. Lil and his mom planned a birthday party. He rolled over and sought Lil's warmth. She wasn't next to him, which was strange. Lil loved to sleep in on Saturdays.

He rose up and walked up to the living room. "Lil." He yawned and rubbed his eyes. He wore sweatpants, no t-shirt. He saw her holding a big plate of pancakes with a candle on top. "Happy birthday dear Scotty, happy birthday to you." She sang happily to him. Scotty smiled openly and blew the candle.

"Thanks Lil." They ate the pancakes and Lilly teased him. "So what do you want to do birthday boy?" She laughed when he scowled at her. "I'm hardly a boy anymore. I'm thirty two." He said as if he was surprised by the notion. She laughed again, "Relax Valens. You're still a young pup." She teased him lightly.

Scotty smiled too and finished his breakfast. "Now, tell me what you really want to do" Lilly's eyes sparkled.

"I want to stay here with you and just laze around but I know it won't happen since you and mom have been calling each other all week. So where's the party and how many people are we talking about?" He asked winningly.

Lilly tried to be cool, "It won't work Rush. You like my mom but you wouldn't be calling her almost everyday if you two weren't up to something." He said assertively.

"Since Mike's house is still undergoing repairs. I have three guesses. It can't be here because you would have to let people know about us being roommates. My old apartment is out of the question. Will it be at the Valens' home or maybe you and my savvy mom rented a venue?" He stated his hypothesis.

"Venue, Rosa booked it last minute. You have to act surprised when we get there. I advocated for you but your mom invited half of your extended family. Last time I checked it was about forty people but that might have changed." Lilly reluctantly offered. Scotty was like a dog with a bone when he wanted to know things.

Scotty smiled triumphantly, "She tries to do it every year. This year she actually pulled it off, you Rush were her accomplice." He said accusingly.

"In my defense I didn't know it would get so out of control. Scotty, she said some family. I didn't know you had so much cousins." Lilly said contritely.

"Nah, don't worry about it Lil." Scotty then smirked, "did you really think I wouldn't notice?" She glared at him, "I was going to give you your birthday present early but now I'll wait until after the party." She said evilly. Scotty hated to wait. "Come on Lil. You can't do that. It's my birthday." He trailed after her.

Seven hours later. He had on black slacks a black dress shirt and a pale yellow tie. He waited for Lil who was doing her make up, "at what time do we have to be there?" he asked for the tenth time.

"8:00 PM" She said while applying mascara to her eyes. It never ceased to amaze him how easily she could do that. "Lil aren't you afraid you'll poke your eye." He said when she curled her eyelashes.

"I've done this for years Valens. It isn't as hard as it looks." Some eyeliner and lip-gloss later and she was ready to put on her dress.

She went into the bathroom to change, "Pray and tell how were you supposedly going to explain your dress and get me to wear a suit on my birthday without me suspecting that we were going to a party?"

"I wasn't. I was going to look fabulous while you probably wore your ripped jeans and that ugly Phillies jacket." She said through the bathroom door.

"That's cold Rush." He said smiling.

"How do I look Valens?" She opened the door. Scotty thought she looked like a vision. She wore a really short blue dress with blue pumps. "That's really short Lil." He said looking at her legs and then up her cleavage. She went back into the bathroom and looked in the mirror. "Don't be silly, is not that short. She tiptoed; sometimes he thought she forgot that he was a man. She touched her boobs and arranged them to fit the dress. He turned around and closed his eyes.

"You look gorgeous Lil. Let's go we'll be late." He said while walking to the door. Lilly left the bathroom and caught up to him. "Let me grab my coat. We're using my car. Your parents think I picked you up at your place."

"I'll drive." Scotty said quickly. She gave him the keys and they were on their way.

They were at the venue forty minutes later. "Remember you didn't know anything. Act surprised." She hissed at him as they walked up to the place. "I know Lil. Relax, I'm a great actor."

Scotty opened the door and a group of people yelled surprise. Scotty smiled and received kisses from his mom and dad.

"You guys didn't have to bother with all of this. I told you I wanted a quiet day Ma." He said while she hugged him.

His mom kissed him again, "Oh _mijo_, I wanted to do it." She then went for Lilly, "you look beautiful _cariño_. Thank you for your help, how did you manage to convince him to dress up?" Lilly smiled.

"I told him we were going undercover for a case." She hugged his mom back. "Come on. I have to introduce you to Scotty's cousins. I know Arturo is still single." Scotty glared at his mother.

He lost Lilly to the crowd and started to mingle. She saw Nick and Toni dancing. Toni laughed and guided him along. Kat and a guy from the office were dancing too. She seemed to be enjoying herself. A lot of people congratulated him, cousins, aunts, uncles and other relatives. He found Mike and Allie, "Hey guys. You couldn't stop her. How did you get out of this?" he asked his sister in law.

Allie laughed, "believe it or not she didn't ask for help this time. She said Lil and her got it."

Scotty kissed her cheek and went to see Boss and Will who were talking to his aunt Martha. "Scotty, happy birthday son." Boss hugged him and clapped his back. "Thanks Boss." Will did the same but he seemed absorbed by what aunt Martha was telling him. She kissed his forehead and pinched his cheeks. "Isn't he handsome. You should have seen him when he was a boy. He was adorable…" Scotty made himself scarce after that remark.

He went in search of Lilly and found her sipping a drink half hidden. "There you are, I've been looking all over the place for you." He ordered a scotch.

"I'm hiding from cousin Beatriz. She's looking for someone called Manuel. She says we would be a pair made in heaven." Scotty laughed, "She's desperate to marry him but Manny is gay. She just doesn't accept that fact yet." Lilly paled.

"Don't worry Lil, Manny is great." He laughed again and held his stomach. She was laughing too. She looked beautiful with her hair up, laughing, being happy.

"Let's hit the floor Rush. It's the least you can do since you set me up." He grabbed her hand and took her to the dance floor. Scotty smirked when she attempted to refuse him.

Soon they were dancing and having fun just like in Miami. They were drinking, dancing. Scotty was having lots of fun. He danced with Kat, Allie, his mom and some of his cousins. It had been months since he had this much fun at a party.

He spun Kat around, "I didn't know you could dance like this Valens. You are hiding valuable talents detective." He laughed and teased her back. "I better get you back to your table. Your date is giving me the evil eye Miller." She smiled. "Good, this way I don't have to do all the work. Thank you Valens." Kat kissed his cheek and then walked to her table.

Scotty sat at his parent's table, "Are you having fun son?" his dad asked with a smile on his face. "I am Pops."

"See, I told you Ramiro. I knew he needed this party." Rosa said self-sufficiently. Scotty frowned at her. "That doesn't mean I wanted a party Ma."

"You're having fun, that's what matters. Look at Lilly and Arturo. I knew they would look good together." Rosa squealed with joy.

Lilly was dancing and laughing with his cousin. She looked like she was having fun. He didn't like that look on Arturo's face or the fact that Lil smiled when he said something to her. Scotty's legs moved on their own accord. One moment he was eating a cheese sticks and the next he was spinning Lil away from Arturo. She laughed when she saw him. "Hey Scotty." She looked a little confused.

"I just met your cousin Arturo." She said making conversation.

"Yeah, I saw you." He said and spun her one more time.

"He's an accountant like Mike." He said continuing with the conversation. She smiled. "He's going through a bad break up." Lilly said.

Scotty didn't want to talk about his cousin anymore. He planned to keep Lil away from him. "Do you want to hit the buffet line? I'm starving." He led her away from the dance floor.

They made their plates and sat with the squad. "Lil you are a great dancer." Toni remarked. The group talked and laughed; luckily Arturo was nowhere to be seen. "You have a lovely family Scotty." Will and Boss said their goodbyes at 1:00 AM. Scotty walked them out.

Kat and her date said goodbye not long after Scotty blew his candles. Nick and Toni went with them, carpooling since Toni was the only one who didn't have drinks. Scotty didn't let Lilly out of his sight. He didn't want her talking to Arturo. His cousin wasn't a bad guy but he just didn't like the idea of them together.

By 3:00 AM there weren't many people left, only a few cousins, his parents and them. Lil and him were drunk. He knew that. They were dancing to that old Spanish song he liked. Scotty hugged her to him and swayed to the music. It was good that there wasn't anyone speaking Spanish because that song was basically a declaration of love to Lil. He whispered the verses to her ear and she leaned even closer to him. Scotty kissed the side of her neck. "That's our song _mi Cielo_." They finished dancing to the song. Her clear blue eyes were hazy; they must really have had a lot to drink. Scotty could hold his liquor but Lil was a lightweight. She looked ready to pass out; he thought she still looked beautiful. That was the last song they played. His mother found them giggling and stumbling to the exit.

"Scotty, Lilly. Where are you going?" Rosa caught up to them. "Home mom. It's late we have to rest." He said seriously. Rosa shook her head. "You both had a lot to drink why don't Ramiro and me drop you home?"

Lil rested her head on his arm. "Ok ma, we'll wait for you in the car." He was about to leave but his dad came through the door. "Ramiro we have to take Lilly home." His dad nodded and they went to the car.

They were parked close; Lilly was almost asleep when Ramiro helped her inside of the car. Scotty climbed next to her. There was silence for at least fifteen minutes before Rosa Valens asked, "Lilly do you have your keys with you?" Scotty poked Lilly on her side, "_Cielo_, do you have the keys?" He asked her. The endearment wasn't lost on his parents who looked at each other. Rosa smiled, "What did you call her?"

Lilly groaned and scooted closer to him. "_Cielo_," she said with an accent. "He calls me that. I don't know what that means." She sighed and snuggled to his side. Scotty smiled, "Lil, do you have the keys." He laughed.

She laughed back, "No, I left them at the car with my cellphone." They laughed hysterically.

"Scotty where are we going. Why aren't we going home?" she asked suddenly very curious. "I think we're going to my parents' house or maybe the precinct. Did we finish the case Lil?" he slurred.

"I don't remember, Scotty, I'm sleepy." She said quietly and then snored. "Ma, Lil's sleeping you have to be quiet." he yelled and then laughed.

Rosa frowned at her son. "Settle down Scotty, we'll be home before you know it." Ramiro kept driving. This was amusing to say the least. He smiled; this would be really embarrassing for Scotty and Lilly in the morning. Ten minutes later Scotty and Lilly were past out on the back of the car.

"Rosa I think Scotty is in love." Ramiro said when it was obvious that his son and his partner wouldn't be joining in the conversation.

"I know he's in love and she loves him too. They just have to realize it." Rosa had a big smirk on her face.

"You don't think they're going out already?" Ramiro thought they were going out already. They seemed too familiar with each other.

"Of course not. Didn't you see Scotty's face? He longs for her and when I introduced Lilly to Arturo she seemed ok with the idea of dating that boy." Ramiro shook his head and drove them home.


	10. Chapter 10

Please read and review.

Chapter 10

Scotty rubbed his eyes. "Scotty wake up, we're home." Rosa shook her son's arm. "This ain't my house." He slurred and tried to go back to sleep.

"_Levántate vamos, estás borracho." _Rosa said sternly. Scotty shook his head and helped Lil out of his father's car.

She whimpered, "Scotty, my feet hurt. I wanna sleep now." She leaned on him.

"Ok _Cielo_, I'll take them off." He was about to drop to the floor but his dad grabbed him by the arm. "Later, not now." Rosa helped Lilly up the steps to their house.

They went inside the house. Lilly grabbed Scotty's hand. "We're going to sleep Valens." She said imperiously. Scotty nodded sleepily, "_Si, mi Cielo_" They went up the stairs into a hall and finally to Scotty's old room.

Scotty was tired and hot. He opened the window and started undressing. Lilly was drunker than he was because she was trying to slip out of that tight dress but couldn't remember how it actually worked. She kept trying to yank it up. Scotty's lustful eyes roamed over her legs and those shoes. "Come here Lil." He helped her to sit on the bed. She dropped there, Scotty removed the shoes, and he caressed her ankles. Lilly moaned and pulled him up. "I want to kiss you Scotty." She said softly but then passed out. "Me too Lil." He lay next to her and hugged her like he always did.

Lilly felt uncomfortable, she moaned and turned around. She saw Scotty's face inches away from her. He was fast asleep; his leg was over her hips. She was trapped against him. All she wanted to do was get out of the dress. Lil caressed his back and kissed his jaw. Scotty whispered something, but she didn't understand it. Lil dropped a few kisses on his chin and neck, enjoying herself. His hands caressed her back. He was responding to her few kisses. "Scotty, I want to get out of this dress." She rolled on top of him and undid her zipper on the side. She pulled it over her head and then fell on his chest. He placed his hands over her behind and she kissed his chest. She pulled the covers up, and snuggled into his warmth.

Rosa woke up at 11:00 AM. She went down to the kitchen and made breakfast. Ramiro was already in the shower and she knew that as soon as Scotty smelled the bacon he would be downstairs drinking coffee and orange juice as if his life depended on it. He would have a hangover, served him right for drinking that much. She hummed to herself and fried some eggs too. Ramiro came down and drank his coffee.

"Scotty up yet?" he asked while chewing on his toast. Rosa sat in front of him, "not yet. He must really be hungover." Rosa commented buttering her slices of bread.

They finished eating; Rosa separated plates for both Lilly and Scotty. She got a kiss from Ramiro. "I'm going down to the store and to get Lilly's car." Her husband left after that.

Rosa finished her chores and went upstairs to check on her son and his partner. It was 1:00 PM and there was no sound coming from them. She opened the door and peeked into the room. The room was chilly, Scotty still slept with the windows open. She saw her son and Lilly cuddling under the covers. Lilly's mop of blond hair covered her face. She stirred a little and Scotty moaned. "Time to get up Scotty." Rosa said. Scotty groaned and nuzzled Lil's neck. "L_evántate_ Scott." Her son opened his eyes.

"Ma, what are you doing here?" He said surprisingly. His eyes widened comically. He stood up and realized that it wasn't the best idea. He had a pounding headache and was only wearing his underwear. Lilly groaned and whimpered, she buried her head on the pillow.

"Get dressed, there's some food and aspirin downstairs with your name on it. Please Scotty, close that window. Lilly is going to catch a cold." Rosa left the room. He thought how he would explain him and Lil sleeping on the same bed. He was half naked with an equally half naked Lilly. "Is your mom gone?" she asked rolling and facing him. She was wearing a light blue bra.

Scotty glanced at her chest; he recovered quickly, "Yeah Lil." He searched for clothes in the drawers he found underwear, shirts and jeans. His mom insisted on him keeping clothes at home, just in case.

"I want to take a shower. I feel disgusting." Lilly wrapped herself with the sheet and sat up.

"Bathroom is down to the left." Scotty said while holding his head. She glared at him, "thank you detective but there's a slight problem. I only have that dress and is not really comfortable." Scotty opened another drawer and found what he was looking for, a black shirt and basketball shorts. "Here you go, until we go back home." He led her to the bathroom and then went downstairs in search of that aspirin.

His mom was already cooking something, "what time is it?" he asked while drinking coffee and that precious aspirin. "Almost 4:00 PM. how's Lilly doing?" she asked casually. She was cutting pieces of chicken. He looked away before he felt more nauseous.

"I think she's doing better than me. She's taking a shower right now." He sat down and rubbed his temples.

"I saw you two in bed." Rosa grabbed a plate and served him cereal.

Scotty was on defense mode immediately, "it's not like that Ma." He said swiftly.

"Not like what?" she asked and sat in front of him. Scotty felt nervous all of the sudden. "She's my best friend, whatever you saw, we're just friends." Scotty said clearly.

"I wasn't implying anything _mijo_." She said with a sparkle and a smile. She wouldn't drop the issue and he knew it. He had to do something before Lil came downstairs."_Mami_ please, just let it be." He said seriously.

Rosa nodded and changed the subject, "Your dad should be home soon. He went to get Lilly's car." Scotty was grateful that his mother did this for him.

He gulped more coffee and ate his cereal quietly. Lilly walked down the stairs, she looked pale, "Lilly, are you ok?" Rosa asked concernedly.

"I'm fine. I'm sorry Rosa; I shouldn't have drunk that much at the party. I didn't do anything stupid, did I?" his partner accepted a cup of orange juice.

Once his mom was out of earshot Lilly unleashed her fury on him. She punched him on the shoulder. "Ouch Lil?" he winced and looked at her, she was mad.

"This is all your fault. You are supposed to be my best friend. Why did you let me drink at all last night?" She hissed, while looking over her shoulder to check on his mom.

Scotty frowned at her, "How is it my fault Lil? I was just as drunk as you were." He pointed out. Lilly glared at him, "we'll it's your fault because you rushed me to get inside the venue and I forgot my things inside the car." He opened his mouth to say something but his mom interrupted their argument.

"Your dad called he's on his way with Lilly's car." She gave Lilly a cup of tea. "Scotty, go take a shower. Lunch will be ready in an hour. Mike and Allie should be getting here soon. Scotty did as he was told; he showered, changed clothes and came downstairs. He heard Lilly laughing and his mother's voice. "He really did that?" Lilly asked.

"Oh yes. He was convinced that I wouldn't notice that he was faking," more Lilly laughter.

"What are you two talking about?" he sat next to Lil who was in the couch. "Your mom was showing me your baby pictures. She told me about that time you faked the chicken pox with a red marker." She wiped her eyes.

"It ain't that funny Lil." He said to her partner.

"He was adorable. He would retouch the marks before he went into the shower." Rosa remarked and showed her a picture of him when he was about six. He was grinning, his two front teeth missing. "I was a kid. I thought it would work." He smiled when Lilly laughed some more. She was gorgeous when she was smiling. He tried to not look in her direction too much. He knew that his mom was watching him closely.

His Pops arrived; Lilly stood up and thanked him. "Thank you Ramiro. I better go home now. "Nonsense _muchacha_. You'll stay and have late lunch with us." His Pops smiled. "Scotty will drive you home later." Lilly protested but it was useless to argue with his parents.

Lilly understood where Scotty inherited his stubbornness. Both Ramiro and Rosa were something else. Rosa pulled her to the kitchen and recruited her help. "I'm not really a good cook." She said despondently. "Don't worry _cariño_, you won't be doing anything complicated." She had no other option. Soon Mike, Allie and the kids were at the house. Allie joined them in the kitchen. "Alejandra is asleep I put her in your room Rosa." She grabbed some onions and started chopping next to Lilly.

"Where is Emilio?" Rosa sat next to Allie. Lilly liked these two women; they accepted her and befriended her immediately after Scotty's accident. Rosa called her every week, she called more than Paul, at first she was overwhelmed but Lilly liked the attention Rosa gave her. Allie called too, not as often as Rosa but they became friends over time.

Allie sighed, "He's with Mike. Ramiro, Scotty and him are teaching him how to play dominoes."

"I don't think he should learn to play it. Scotty and Mike became obsessed after Ramiro taught them how to play." Rosa said casually.

"Mike says is harmless, it's not a long game either." Allie shrugged.

"That's not the point Allie, it's addictive especially for a young boy. If Emilio inherited the Valens competitiveness he'll even talk in his sleep about it." Lilly thought back to Scotty, he so was competitive. Him and Vera would bicker, sometimes even fight over who was right about sports trivia. "I haven't heard Emilio talk in his sleep but Mike sure does." Allie laughed, "the other night we had an entire conversation in Spanish. He only whispers in Spanish. I was trying to switch him to English but he never did." Rosa laughed.

"Scotty can switch." Lilly said concentrated on peeling potatoes. She didn't notice Allie and Rosa smiling widely at each other.

"What do you mean?" Rosa asked trying to sound distracted. The detective failed to detect the eagerness and innuendo in her voice. She didn't realize she was giving away precious information. "Scotty speaks on his sleep, he speaks in Spanish most of the time but I can get him to speak in English. I've been trying to get him to tell me what _cielo_ means."

Allie answered immediately without even thinking about it, "it means sky, the heavens." Lilly smiled her face lighting up. "It does?" She said with awe in her voice.

"Yeah Lil. Why?" Allie smiled at Lilly's face, she really was beautiful.

"Nothing I heard it somewhere." Lilly kept smiling to herself.

Lilly helped Scotty set the table while Mike and Emilio finished a game. Lilly couldn't help but smile at him. "You're sweet Valens." She kissed his cheek and he smiled back. "I like this treatment." He winked at her.

They had late lunch, early dinner. Lilly laughed, talked about different topics with this family that welcomed her ever since Scotty properly introduced her. "Lilly you have to spend the holidays with us. Did my son tell you that he's working on Christmas Eve?" Rosa asked over cheesecake and coffee.

"I'm sorry Rosa, I'm spending Christmas with my sister and niece in L.A." Lilly said with a smile. "Scotty actually made it possible. He switched with one of our coworkers so that I could have three days." Rosa looked at her son and kissed him. "You're such a good man."

"Ma please," Scotty looked embarrassed, he never liked to be the center of attention when he did something like sacrifice his holiday time for a friend.

Alejandra, Mike's daughter toddled into the living room and climbed over Scotty. "Hi uncle Scotty." She was four years old and Lilly thought she was the cutest little girl.

Her partner picked her up and talked to her in Spanglish. Allie encouraged her children to speak in Spanish as much as they could. Ale as Scotty called her talked quickly to him and made big gestures with her little hands. Lilly thought they looked adorable. Her partner had a way with children. When Becky and Christina stayed with her the little girl would smile and coo at him all the times he visited.

Lilly and Scotty left before Mike and Allie. "I really have to go home. I have to feed my cats." Lil almost forgot about Olivia and Tripod. "I should be going too. Don't worry Mike; Lil's going to drive me home. Bye guys, see you next Sunday." They said their goodbyes and went home.

As soon as they were in the house Scotty ambushed her. "You said you had a gift for me. My birthday was yesterday so…" He extended his hand and waited for her to magically present him with a gift. Lilly went into their bedroom and came back with a small bag. Scotty took it and saw what was inside. "Lil, this is too much. Where did you get this?" He looked like one of those pictures Rosa showed her early he was like an excited kid. "I made some calls. It's just a baseball glove."

He kissed her forehead, "oh Lil, silly little Lil. You're wonderful. This is an autographed glove by Danys Baez." He looked at the glove one more time and then kissed her again. That night Lilly listened carefully trying to hear Scotty. He called her _mi Cielo_ one more time and kissed her shoulder. She slept with a smile on her face.


	11. Chapter 11

Please read and review. I am really thankful for all of your support and interest in this story. This story will be M-rated in a couple of chapters. Again I thank you all for your feedback and encourage you to keep reviewing .

Chapter 11

She had everything with her, boarding pass, ID, her luggage was checked already and Christina gave her the address where she needed to go.

"This is it. Please don't forget to feed the cats. They do like you Scotty, even if they don't show it much." She said to him. "I won't forget Lil." He hugged her tight. "Call me when you get there." It was Christmas Eve morning. Scotty had to go straight to work. It was already 9:00 AM and the airport was crowded with people and luggage.

"Merry Christmas Valens. Check your drawer, your gift is there." She kissed his cheek and then went through airport security.

Scotty had a busy day. The precinct bustled with activity, their latest case was closed they just needed the last pieces of paperwork and a signed confession from the doer. Nick and Kat were in the process of getting that right now. It was 7:00 PM and Lilly hadn't called yet. He knew her flight had been delayed a couple of hours. Well more than a couple of hours. The last annoyed text he got was at 2:00 PM telling him that she was about to finally board the plane.

He checked his cellphone one more time. He frowned, nothing yet. Stillman and the other two detectives came out of the interrogation room. A middle-aged woman walked handcuffed to the holding cells.

"Go home Valens. Vera and Miller are going home as we speak." Boss wished him a Merry Christmas and they left together.

Scotty drove to his parents' house. "You're home." Rosa hugged and kissed him.

He ate his dinner and watched as Emilio and Alejandra lost the fight to sleep. They wanted to open their gifts at midnight. Emilio lasted until 10:30 while Ale cuddled to him at 9:00 PM.

It was 10:40 when he called Lilly. She must have forgotten to call him. It sent him to voicemail. He didn't bother to leave a message. "Hey Scotty, come play with us." Mike invited him to play dominoes but Scotty shook his head. "I'm busy right now." He put Ale on the couch and went outside. He knew he had to have that number in his cellphone. Scotty was too impatient to find it. He called Lilly again and this time he left a message. "Lil it's me, call me when you get this." Scotty paced as he spoke. He went back into the house to the living room. Mike must have moved Ale and Emilio upstairs. He could hear dad and mom talk in the kitchen and Allie's laughter down the hall.

He found Christina's number; he hoped it was hers, "Hello." Scotty heard Christina's voice.

"Hi Chris. It's Scotty, Can I talk to Lil please?" He said quickly.

"She's not here Scotty." Christina said quickly. Scotty remained silent. "I thought she stayed in Philly. I've been trying to call her since 3:00 PM. She was supposed to be here at 2:00."

Scotty raised his voice and paced, his heartbeat increased. "No, her flight was delayed. You were supposed to pick her at the airport Christina." Scotty said angrily to her.

He saw his Dad and Mom standing just outside of the living room. "I know but I cancelled. I had no one to babysit Becky so I gave her my address." Chris said calmly.

"What do you mean you cancelled? You should have taken Becky to the airport with you." He was becoming increasingly frustrated with Chris and worried about Lilly.

"She's a grown woman, and a cop. She'll be fine." Chris tried to convince herself.

Scotty laughed cruelly, "She's not on service, and she doesn't have a weapon on her or her badge. Your sister is not answering her phone. She's been in LA since at least 7:00 PM. It's almost midnight. God Christina, she didn't ask much of you. All you had to do was pick her up from the fucking airport." He loosened his tie and kept pacing on his mother's rug. His back was to the kitchen but he was sure that his whole family was watching him.

"Scotty, you have no right. She's my sister, you can't talk to me like that." She hung up the phone on him.

Suddenly he felt all the fight and anger leave his body. He fell to the couch and closed his eyes. This couldn't be happening. It had to be a nightmare, he felt someone sit next to him. "What's wrong with Lilly?" his mom asked. He didn't open his eyes. "She's not with her sister. Christina thought she cancelled, she didn't even pick Lil from the airport." Scotty rubbed his eyes. "Mike, give me your phone." Mike gave it to him. Scotty checked Lilly's flight. It had arrived to LAX at 7:15 PM. That information only brought more anxiety to him. He called Christina again to let her know. She just asked him, "What should I do?" in her defense she sounded scared but Scotty couldn't see beyond his own fears. "Go to the airport and start asking people if they saw her." He said imperiously.

"Scotty, I can't. I have the baby…"

"What do you mean you can't? Lilly is missing." He said angrily to his partner's sister.

"Don't you dare hang up on me again Christina. I'll book a flight to L.A. right now. Call your boyfriend, and get to the airport as soon as you can. I'll meet you there." Scotty had a plan now; he would go to L.A. and look for her.

"Scotty, hold on a second. Lilly's flight was delayed maybe she's on her way to her sister's home right now." Mike tried but Scotty was already buying his airplane ticket online. He took out his wallet but was too nervous to put in all the numbers. "Damn it." Allie took his credit car. "Let me." She took the phone and car from him.

"Scotty, tell me what's going on?" Rosa asked stilling his hand. "It's my fault, she was going to stay here but I had to buy her that ticket. She was sad Ma, she couldn't sleep well, Lil tried to hide it but she moped around. She woke up in the middle of the night. You should have seen her face when Christina cancelled. Lil was really looking forward to seeing Becky." Scotty said softly, turning around to see Allie still with the cellphone on her hand. "Did you get the tickets yet?" he said anxiously.

"No, I'm looking for something right now but there's nothing online." Allie said helplessly. She was about to refresh the page again when the phone started ringing. Scotty snatched from her hands. "Hello, Chris did she call you?" Scotty asked quickly.

"I'm fine Scotty." Lil's sweet voice said. Scotty felt relief like he'd never felt before, "Thank god. Are you ok? What happened?" He said as he walked upstairs into his bedroom. He needed a moment with her.

"Yes. I'm fine. My cellphone is out of battery and I missed my connecting flight. I just got to Chris's place." She said, Scotty closed his eyes and fell on the mattress.

"You scared the hell out of me. I think I aged ten years this past thirty minutes. _Mi Cielo_, are you sure you're fine? Don't lie to me Lil." He said softly.

"Do you want to facetime me to make sure?" She said jokingly.

Scotty didn't have to think twice, "Actually I do. I'll call you right now." suddenly he could see her beautiful face on the screen. She was carrying Becky. "Hey Becky." He said to the little baby who giggled and tried to grab the phone.

"See I'm fine." She smiled to him. "Did you get your Christmas gift?" She asked him.

He smiled back, "Not yet. I haven't been home yet. Tell me what you got me." He said relaxing more by the fact that she was fine.

She shook her head. "Come on Lil. I deserve to know. I've been a good boy Rush." He pleaded. Lilly laughed, "Ok, just because I scared you tonight." He looked expectantly at her. "Remember that leather jacket you wanted?" He nodded. "It's on the closet by my dresses." She said to him.

"Thank you Lilly." He said sincerely. Lilly reassured him once again she was fine and that yes she had all of her luggage. She smiled openly, "Merry Christmas Scotty." She blew him a kiss. Becky did the same. He smiled at them. "Scotty I have to go, Chris's boyfriend is here."

He wished her Merry Christmas and the connection ended. He breathed a sigh of relief. He understood how Lilly felt when he had the accident or when he stormed out. He cared for Lilly before they started living together. He'd been worried sick when she was kidnapped by George and he almost broke down when she was shot. This was different, the pain, the fear, the anxiety were sudden and overwhelming. It was like a truck hitting him with all these feelings of powerlessness and vulnerability.

Scotty composed himself and went downstairs again. He found his family on the living room. "Is Lilly ok?" Rosa asked as he saw him come downstairs.

"She's fine, she missed her flight and it was almost impossible to get a cab to Christina's place." Scotty said, "Ma, where are coconut cakes?" he asked while going to the kitchen in search for them. The Valens looked at each other relieved that Lilly was fine. They had seen that desperate look on Scotty too many times because of Elisa. This time however Scotty had crumbled completely. Whenever Elisa got sick Scotty would be devastated but he always showed a strong front. This time it was as if all the drive and fight left him. Mike saw it; Scotty had only one thing in mind finding Lilly Rush.

Scotty reverted to his happy self and enjoyed himself. Mike and Allie went back to their home. Scotty drove back home; Lil's place was home now. He found his gift where she said. Lil really was something else. He hadn't even said anything about that jacket. He just looked at it and she knew. He felt bad that he only gave her the ticket to L.A. He would have to make it up to her. Scotty tossed and turned in the bed. He pressed his face into her pillow and inhaled her scent. He smiled and slept a little.

Lilly wasn't faring any better. She thought that all the excitement and stress from the day would tire her out. That she would drop unconscious as soon as she hit the bed, wrong. She was awake; she checked her phone that was now charged. She couldn't help but facetime him. It would be a miracle if he answered. She almost gave up when a sleepy Scotty smiled at her. "Hi _Cielo_, do you miss me too?" he asked sleepily, a self-satisfied smirk graced his beautiful face.

"Maybe a little. I can see you're doing well without me." She teased him.

"No, I just managed to sleep. I had to bury my face on your pillow. Have I ever told you that you smell absolutely delicious?" He told her with his eyes barely open. She thought he looked sexy, and adorable at the same time. He must be really out of it to tell her these things.

"Not really but now I know." She replied.

Lilly kept looking at the screen, Scotty went back to sleep. Lilly watched him until she closed her eyes too.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

She had a wonderful time in L.A. Lilly learned that Christina was expecting again. Bruce was ecstatic. She saw how much he loved both her sister and niece. Becky called him daddy and they were making plans to marry or have Bruce legally adopt Becky, whichever was easier.

"I'm so happy Lil. It's like a dream. He loves us so much. He works all the time but when he gets home… I just feel so secure, happy and healthy." Christina gushed.

Lilly was glad for Chris. "So how are things with you and Scotty?" her sister asked the night before she was scheduled to leave.

"We're good." Lilly said happily.

"Oh Lil, spill it. Is he still good in bed?" Chris giggled. Lilly froze, "Thanks for reminding me about that."

Christina sobered up, "You're not mad about that, even after all this time?"

Lilly refused to look at her, "Lilly grow up. We never worked. He never looked at me like he looks at you. Don't think I didn't see his silly grin when you picked up the facetime call."

Chris pushed the subject. "He loves you and you love him back. That's obvious, I saw it when I was staying with you. Do you know he never contacted me after I left for New York? He didn't even call me once after that. He was so angry and desperate when he thought you were missing. He even cursed at me Lil. You know him better than me and he doesn't curse women." Chris was right in that matter. Scotty rarely cursed at women, he just didn't.

She needed to talk to someone. Chris wasn't exactly the best choice, considering she slept with Scotty but she was her sister. There was no one else; besides, Chris couldn't do much damage from L.A. "He's my best friend. I can't ruin our relationship."

Chris actually laughed, "Lil, are you hearing yourself. He knows you better than anyone in the world. He's the one for you sis."

Lilly shook her head, "He doesn't feel the same way. Chris, we've been living together for almost half a year, and not even once has he made a move." Her sister recovered quickly, she hadn't disclosed this piece of information to anyone.

"He's blind. You have to make him see Lil. I know you're looking for the real thing. Let me tell you something. He's it." Christina said emphatically.

"No." Lilly shook her head vigorously. "Maybe he loves me, but it has to be as a sister. He's never touched me sexually, and believe me there's been opportunity.

Christina actually looked like a cat. Her eyes were full with mischief. "Swear to me you won't tell Scotty." Lilly looked at her strangely but nodded her head.

"It happened just before I left for New York. We were in bed; just before he came he said your name in a whisper. He was half drunk, but Lil that was the best sex we had and he said your name. It was like he wasn't there with me but with you." Chris said while looking into her eyes.

"That's too much, even for you Chris." Lilly said harshly. Christina grabbed her hands. "I swear I'm not lying to you Lil. He said your name, I moved the next day. He wants you. I bet he's repressed those feelings because he probably has the same fears you have."

Lilly didn't say anything; instead she moved to Becky's playpen and picked her up. "Your mom is crazy." She said to the little girl who nodded. Chris laughed, "your daughter agrees with me." Lilly said before laughing at Becky's antics.

Try as she might Lilly couldn't get the thought of Scotty having sexual feelings for her out of her mind. She thought about their friendship. They were great together; she'd never felt closer to any other man in her life. Scotty Valens was rooted so deep in her life it would be devastating if they didn't work out. What if they did? What if Chris was right? What if this was to what they were headed? She had almost given up on the idea ok if having a family of her own. As a girl, she wanted to have children. To make it right, to have a husband and children who loved her. As a seasoned homicide detective she was past any childhood fantasy of a family but Scotty made her want that with him.

She thought about their interactions. He did have a pet name for her; Scotty touched her whenever he could get away with it. He dropped kisses along her face, when he thought she was sleeping. Christina could actually be right. She didn't know what to do. They were codependent; she couldn't imagine her life without him. What would happen when he moved on? Scotty wouldn't stay single forever. Would she be able to pretend to be happy for him when he married another woman? When he had children with someone else? The idea literally caused her physical pain. It was either be a spectator in his life or become more in his life.

Lilly was emotionally drained; She walked out the plane and eventually managed to get all of her luggage. She saw him before he saw her. He looked distracted, checking his phone. He looked up and the biggest smile appeared on his face. She knew she must be sporting a matching grin on her face. Lilly walked up to him and hugged him. He hugged her back tighter and kissed the side of her face. "I missed you so much." He whispered contentedly as he nuzzled her neck. She shivered when his strong hands ran over her back. She wore a winter coat but his touch still thrilled her.

Lilly stepped out of his embrace. "Let's go home." She looped an arm around his and they left the airport.

Scotty wanted to know everything about her trip. Lilly humored him and told him everything about it. "Bruce really loves them Scotty, oh I forgot to tell you on the phone. Chris is having another baby." Lilly said excitedly.

Scotty's face paled, "Oh God, I'm so sorry." He said, Lilly frowned and looked at him confusedly. Scotty looked nervous. "I don't know how much Chris told you, but I kind of went nuts on her when I thought you were missing." Scotty said remorsefully.

"She did mention you cursed her out." She said trying to get more information out of her partner.

He laughed uncomfortably, "I did, I was just so frustrated when I couldn't find you. I thought she was being unhelpful but she's actually pregnant. God I'm such an asshole. I'll call her later to apologize. How's Becky doing? Is she walking now?" Lilly recognized the distraction technique and went with it. Valens wouldn't give more information up.

They arrived home late in the afternoon. It was a Monday; they would have to work the next day. "Boss wants us to do some training or something. He said he expected us tomorrow at noon. He wants to go over new protocol and talk about our health requirements. I bet Nick is going to have the time of his life." Scotty snickered, and drank his orange juice.


	13. Chapter 13

Thank you all for the reviews, I expect more of those please. This chapter is rated M. Not much plot in this one really (wink, wink). Please review, I cannot stress how important reviews are. :: ::

Chapter 13

They were in bed watching some show or something. Lilly just finished talking to Chris. Scotty called her to apologize once again and also to congratulate her on the new baby. Lilly was freshly showered, her hair still a little damp against the pillow. Scotty climbed in next to her and brought her body close to his. He nuzzled her neck, "You smell nice." She closed her eyes and let him think she was asleep already. He sighed once again and drew circles around her belly.

Lilly was still, she would ignore it, just like she ignored it countless of times before tonight. What she said to her sister wasn't entirely true. Scotty's body reacted to hers. He would wake up before her and relieve tension but there were a few times when he rubbed up against her, still half asleep. He never did anything else. He woke up and went into the bathroom; sometimes she could hear him moan in his sleep but nothing more. Lilly thought it was just a physical reaction. Scotty was a healthy male in his prime years. It was normal for him to have morning erections. But there were intentional touches. Like now, she felt his fingers dancing around her belly, softly touching, and teasing her skin. She had two seconds before she made up her mind.

Lilly turned around, and kissed his chin. Lilly's eyes remained closed. Scotty hugged her to him. He rubbed her back. Lilly opened her eyes and kissed him on the mouth. His lips were soft against hers, he didn't respond. Lilly looked into his eyes, he looked confused. "You didn't like it." She was about to storm out of the room. When he kissed her back. He overpowered her, he teased her mouth open and caressed her tongue with his. She moaned and threaded her fingers through his hair. He kissed her passionately. She whispered his name breathlessly. She realized then that she'd been waiting for this moment ever since he moved in with her. Lilly didn't exactly know when Scotty became more than a friend, but she surely wanted him to be more.

Scotty kissed her cheek; Lilly rid him of his undershirt. His dark eyes burned with something strong. She looked at him and kissed him again. Her hands had a mind of her own and she stroked his chest. It thrilled her to touch his warm body; she wanted to touch him all over. She went lower but Scotty stopped her hand. "We can't do this." He looked scared all of the sudden.

Lilly looked at him, she came closer to him and caressed his erection. "Why?" she asked, barely moving her hand up and down. "I… Lil god you have to stop that." He whimpered when she licked his earlobe. "I want this Scotty. I've wanted you for a long time." She said before kissing him and biting his lower lip. He kissed her back and lifted her old shirt. It used to be Scotty's but Lilly's claimed it as hers one time she didn't have anything else to wear. He licked his lips, Lilly felt a little nervous. Scotty could hardly look into her eyes. His eyes kept going lower to her breasts. "I don't think this is a good idea." He stated but lowered his hand to one of her breasts. She felt on fire, his fingers circled her nipple. She kissed his neck and continued stroking him. Never once did he argue with her, she encouraged him to continue petting her, with moans and whispers of his name. She arched her back and lay on the bed. He remained sitting on his side. Lilly was only wearing a black pair of panties, not the sexiest she thought.

Scotty leaned into her. He wasn't stopping her or trying to dissuade her anymore. His eyes took an impossible dark hue. His hands ran over her ribs and stomach. "If we do this, believe me Lil, I want this. We're not going back to being just friends. We become more Lillian; we're not doing the friends with benefits crap. I care about you, too much to only be that." He moved above her and ground his hips against hers. "Scotty," she kissed him and caressed his back, her fingers feeling his muscles flex as he ground on her. She couldn't believe that this was happening. She moaned when his hands touched her and teased her out of her panties. Scotty's fingers stroked her most sensitive parts and she felt higher and higher.

She felt her orgasm building and taking over her body. She answered her partner with caresses of her own. She was hazy with desire and lust for him, "Scotty take them off." Her voice sounded foreign to her. He moaned and licked her neck. He raised his hips and together they got rid of his sweat pants and boxers. He stood erect before her; Lilly felt a thrill of hot, overwhelming desire course through her. He continued kissing her neck and lowered his head to her chest, stomach and lower. She keened when his lips and tongue came in contact with her inner thighs and center. Scotty's voice was raspy with barely contained desire. "I want you so much _Cielo_. I've dreamed about this, I was so afraid of losing you." She fisted the sheets when he licked her slowly and brought her to nirvana.

She was scarcely conscious when Scotty groaned, "Lil, do we have any condoms?" His voice sounded desperate. He was hard and heavy against her. She kissed his collarbone. She wanted him bad, "Christina gave me some. They're on my purse." She panted heavily. She crossed her legs over his hips and rubbed herself against him. His breath hitched and he stood up. Lilly admired him from the bed; he found her purse in record time and grabbed the box Christina gave her. It had been a joke but she was grateful for that box right now. "I don't need them anymore. It would be a waste, besides. I'm sure Scotty and you will put them to good use." She had smirked and kissed her sister goodbye.

Scotty came back to bed with the box and left it on the side drawer. "Let me do it." She took the condom and put it on him. He hissed and pushed her to the mattress. She anticipated the moment when he would enter her. Scotty kissed her, she felt breathless when he looked into her eyes. "_Mi Cielo_." It was all he said before entering her, she gasped at the sensation. It had been more than a year since she'd been with any man. She felt him stretch her, fill her, Scotty was quiet and moved slowly inside of her. Lilly held onto him as they moved against each other. She felt consumed by him. Scotty made love to her slowly, unhurriedly. He pushed her leg into his elbow and drove into her decadently. She kissed whatever she could reach of him. He sighed, she watched as his face contorted in pleasure. He looked so sexy and beautiful. Lilly wanted to save this image of him like this in her mind. He was quiet, concentrated, and single mindedly giving her such scorching pleasure. She couldn't hold onto reality anymore. She let herself go, she whimpered his name and trashed on the mattress. Scotty stilled her, held her captive and pumped in and out of her. He chanted something in Spanish, "_mi cielo, sólo mio, mi cielo. Mia, mi vida, mi amor_." His voice huskily whispered next to her ear until she felt him stiffen and come with a groan.

They were a sweaty tangled mess. She smiled satisfied; he nuzzled her chest, kissed a path to her mouth and kissed her sweetly. "That was…" he started but she kissed him once again. He looked into her eyes, "no take backs Lil. We are a couple, I won't settle for less. Not after this." He whispered, his eyes pleading with her to accept.

"Yes, but we don't tell the squad. I don't want to have a different partner or an IAB investigation on my hands." She rolled them over and peppered kisses on his face. He grinned and nodded. "I want to tell my family." He said seriously.

"We'll do that but not now ok." She said nervously.

He pressed a kiss on her nose. "Ok." She kissed down his chest and toyed with his chest hair. "I'm really liking this side of yours." He almost purred when she grabbed him and stroked him lightly.

Scotty loved these sensations Lilly brought him. When she first kissed him, he thought he was dreaming. Then everything happened. He tried to stop it, to fight it but he couldn't. He wanted her; the thought of having her had been on his mind for a long time now. He gave up all resistance when he saw her naked. She was a vision, and this beauty was a few inches away from him. He acted and he didn't regret it. She had taken him places he didn't know existed. His body was an inferno, her smell, taste, and the feel of her excited him. Lilly drove him mad with lust and desire for her.

He thrust up into her, she was riding him slowly, and she called it payback for earlier. She was flushed, sweaty and her eyes were a luminous blue he'd never seen before. Scotty whispered sweet nothings into her ear. She enjoyed that, Lil moaned deeper when he told her how good she felt, how hot he was for her or when he called her pet names in Spanish. "Scotty please, call me what you call me in Spanish." She was almost there. He could feel it; he could feel her tightening around him. He licked the side of her neck, "_cielo. Cielo, cielo, mi cielo_." He punctuated every word with a swift thrust into her. Lilly shook on his arms, her whole body trembled with the force of her explosion. Her orgasm triggered his own. He was breathless; she kissed his mouth as a thank you, and remained in his broad chest.

She was asleep before he moved her to her side. He stood up, disposed of the used condoms and opened the window. It was hot for a December night. He went back to bed and wore the biggest grin when Lil turned to his arms and kissed a spot on his neck.


	14. Chapter 14

I don't own Cold Case

Thank you all for the reviews. I'm not really sure how much people are reading and liking this story. I know that at least four people are constantly reading and reviewing. I really appreciate you guys. As always please read and review, the lack of reviews does affect the writing make no mistake.

Chapter 14

The next morning was fun. They woke up and had a morning quickie before going to work. He held her hands with his and rammed into her one last time. "This keeps getting better and better." He said while exploding into her.

"Yess." She answered him with a keen of her own. They rested for about three seconds before Scotty picked her up from the bed. "We have to shower, you smell like sex and have a nest for hair." He said tangling his fingers in her hair as she kissed his jaw and pulse point.

"I didn't hear you complaining just now." She said pouting playfully.

"I ain't ever gonna complain; believe me Rush." He turned the shower on and laughed, when she squealed and tried to get away from him and the showerhead. "No way Rush, I have to clean you up. You're very dirty." Her face was wet as so was his; she laughed and kissed him under the water. "No funny business Scotty, we have to work today." He heard her say but it was too late Scotty had a mind of his own. He pushed her to the wall and lathered her body with soap. He knew he had her when her eyes became that dark blue that was quickly becoming his favorite shade of blue. She was aroused; Scotty used that to his favor. He nipped at her lips and sought access with his tongue. "What if we were to be late, just this once? We're always early." He ran his hand over her thigh. Lilly played with his hair. "It wouldn't be the worst thing, would it?" She answered while shampooing his hair. He gave her a dirty smile and cleaned her thoroughly.

They spent too much time in the shower. They were definitely late. Scotty dressed quickly; he grabbed a cup of coffee and left before her. "_Cielo_ I'm leaving, see you at work." He called into the bedroom. Lilly was trying to dry her hair. "Scotty, wait for me. My car isn't working, I never took it to the mechanic." She yelled back. Scotty looked at his watch, "we have to go Lil." He went back to the bedroom and saw her half dressed. She had her slacks on and was putting on her white shirt on. Scotty eyes smoldered. He came closer to her, "No way Valens, I just got dressed. Keep away from me."

He smiled, "I ain't gonna do nothing." He said approaching her and giving her a small kiss. She hummed and pushed him away. "I don't have time to dry my hair." She said as he touched her hair. "I like your wet hair." He massaged her scalp and kissed her neck, careful to not leave a mark on her delicate skin.

"Come on, I'll do my make up as you drive. We won't make it if we stay here." She buttoned up her blouse and grabbed her purse. They left the house thirty minutes late. Scotty drove them as fast as he could. They were in such good mood; they made it to their floor. "Good morning, so nice of you to join us." Stillman said to his two detectives.

"Lil's car broke, I had to pick her up." Scotty said as a form of apology. He went straight to his desk and started on his work for the day.

Kat pulled his partner to the break room. Scotty didn't think anything of it. He checked his email and started on the paperwork for the day. Will and Nick had a new case. A thirty five year old Jane Doe, she was found raped and dead in the badlands. Nick showed him a folder, "We have a possible lead. Daniel Wright came in an hour ago. He claims to know the victim. He's inside with Will, trying to identify our Jane Doe."

Scotty looked at the file, "Found March 21st 2009 stabbed to death, raped and dumped." Scotty then pulled a picture. "Is this her?" Scotty asked while looking at a picture of a pretty blond, blue-eyed woman. "We don't know yet, Wright gave us this picture of her. See the infinity tattoo on her wrist? Our Jane doe had the same tattoo."

"Why didn't this guy come forward before?" Scotty asked frowning; he read more about their new victim.

Nick shrugged; "he was out of the country, in Africa. This guy is a pediatric surgeon who works for Doctors Without Borders. He recently came back and looked for her." He seemed pretty broken up when he came to us.

Will escorted Daniel Wright out of the interrogation room. He was tall, brown hair, good-looking one might say. He looked devastated, his eyes looked haunted, he'd been crying.

Scotty and Nick waited anxiously. "He recognized the body. I called the medical examiners. They're going to match our Jane Doe's DNA to that of Ms. Lillian Shepherd." Will sat on his chair; Scotty thought he looked sick for a moment.

Kat and Lil came back from the break room, "ladies we have a new case." Nick shared the file with them.

"When do we know if Lillian is our victim?" Lil asked, her eyes skimming through the official report.

"Three hours tops. I called in to put priority on this one." Will finished his phone call.

"What do we know about her?" Kat sipped her coffee. Scotty frowned, "stabbed to death, raped…"

Kat shook her head, "No I meant Lillian Shepherd."

Will answered, "Her best friend came in this morning. Ms. Shepherd was a heart-surgeon. She was a type A person, committed to her work and surgery. Mr. Daniel Wright described surgery as the love of her life."

Scotty played with a pencil, "I don't get that, how did this case go cold. He said he'd been in Africa for two years. If this woman was his best friend, wouldn't he have kept in touch with her?" Will glared at him viciously. "It might not be her." The black man said.

Nick changed the subject, "How was your trip Rush, how's your sister doing?" Lilly smiled, "She's pregnant again."

Kat rolled her eyes. "She's crazy, when I had Veronica I swore to myself to never go through that pain again." Lilly smirked. "It can't be worse than getting shot." Kat rolled her eyes. "Trust me it can be."

Scotty didn't follow the rest of the conversation. He was too busy imagining Lil naked; he was having a hard time not looking at her. "Valens, I asked you a question." Scotty shook his head, "What?" he looked at Will; the older man frowned at him. "I said, do you want to go with me to the medical office? I want to know if we have a case."

"Sure, I'm driving." Scotty put on his jacket and looked back to see Lil winking at him. He winked back and trailed after Will.

They had a case. "I wanted Wright to be mistaken." Will said sadly.

Scotty didn't understand why this case was getting to Will. In the years that he'd been in the squad Jeffries had been the most balanced and professional of his colleagues. "Will, what is it with you and this case?" He asked. Will looked surprised, "I thought you would get it."

The younger detective looked more confused than ever. "I don't think he was just a friend to her. You know how that feels Valens; to lose someone you love so unexpectedly." It dawned on Scotty then, Will was talking about his wife and Elisa.

They told the rest of the squad about the case. Lilly and Nick retrieved the box from storage. They didn't have much to go on. No exact DNA, no semen or weapon. They just had torn pieces of clothing and Shepherd's purse.

Kat examined the contents. "Lipstick, a plane ticket to Cadiz, Spain, three hundred dollars and a calla lily with a pearl necklace. Wait there is an inscription. A date, March 20, 1999."

"Let's call Daniel, maybe he recognizes the charm and can tell us if why was Lillian leaving the country."

Will called Daniel, Scotty could hear, Will giving the man the bad news, "DNA matches, Daniel we want to talk to you. Could you come down to station or do you prefer us to meet you somewhere?" Will asked politely.

"Perfect, I'll see you tomorrow. I'm very sorry for your loss." Will said gravely.

"I'm starving, wanna go out for lunch?" Lilly asked him.

"Yeah." He smiled at her.

Scotty pushed her inside the elevator and kissed her hard when the doors closed. "I wanted to do that all day. Lil you're a drug, I'm high on Lil." He chuckled against her lips.

"I like that." She messed his hair. "Wanna show me your back car seats?" she asked and tugged on his tie.

He licked her lips one more time, "I love how you think Rush." They composed themselves and practically ran to his car. They drove to a park away from the station. Scotty and her moved to the back seat. She kissed him and ground against him. "Heavy petting only. I'm not that kind of girl Valens." She said breathlessly when he rolled her nipples and tried to get her bra undone.

"You should wear skirts _Cielo_." He said into her ear, she arched her back and nipped at his lips. "Don't call me that now." She closed her eyes and enjoyed the feel of his hands on her waist and breasts.

"Why? I thought you liked it?" He kissed the exposed valley of her breasts. She sighed, "I like it too much Scotty. It makes me want to rip that shirt off your body." He rolled a nipple and itched to kiss it. Lilly continued her grinding, and kissed him feverishly when he tried to undo her fly.

He moaned loudly and tried to convince her to change her mind about her heavy petting rule into something more. He wasn't successful. Lilly promised to let him do whatever he wanted when they got home. They ate hotdogs on their way back; they hadn't had breakfast after all. She licked some mustard off his lips. He grinned and kissed her back.

"Will seems interested in the case." Lil said as they got into the elevator. Scotty nodded, "He is, he believes that Daniel and our victim were something more." Scotty remarked.

Lil's face acquired a thoughtful look. "Maybe. When did Will said Mr. Wright was coming in?"

"Tomorrow." He answered.

Nick leapt from his desk. "I found something. I found the jewelry store that designed the lily necklace. I called the owner, she said that One Daniel Wright purchased the necklace" Nick looked at his paper pad. "He bought March 17 2007"

Scotty and Lilly looked at each other; Will might have been right. Lilly fished the necklace out of the box. "It is a beautiful piece of jewelry." She mused, Scotty smiled, and Lil wasn't usually interested in jewelry.

"Very expensive too. 500 bucks." Nick grabbed the necklace. "I wouldn't have paid that much."

Kat snorted, "Just because you're cheap doesn't mean all men are." The detective finished her sandwich.

They all quieted when Will made his way back to his desk. "What do we have?"

Nick told him about the necklace. "I have a feeling about this guy, I don't think this is our guy." Will said. "He was very reticent when it came to give us information about Lillian Shepherd. He's just a friend? It doesn't check out. No guy buys a $500 necklace with an inscription for their best friend without having other intentions."

Scotty actively avoided Nick's gaze. He agreed with her, he'd gifted Lil with different things along their friendship but the last year had marked a change. He'd been more thoughtful about what he got her. "I'm not arguing that, she clearly meant something deeper than a friend to her. You'll see; he's not our doer." Will said firmly.


	15. Chapter 15

I don't own Cold Case.

This chapter has mature content. I assure you there is still a lot of plot, this chapter doesn't really contain much of it. Please read and review .

Chapter 15

They continued with their investigative work. Scotty searched for Lillian Shepherd, no missing person's report. Heart surgeon at Pennsylvania hospital, Summa Cum Laude from MIT, did her undergrad pre-med at Queens College CUNY. The information stopped there. There wasn't anything about her childhood or anything about any relatives.

Scotty called the admissions' office at New York. They gave him a possible address and telephone number. He called and a woman answered, "hello." The voice said.

"Good afternoon Mrs…" he waited, "Glendale."

"Yes." She answered politely.

"This is Philadelphia Police Department, I regret to inform you that Ms. Lillian Shepherd is dead." He waited on the line.

"I'm sorry to hear that but I can't really help you. Lilly was a foster child. She lived with me for three months before going to college."

"Do you know any relatives? Someone we can contact."

The woman answered quickly, "She had been in the system for many years when she came to live with me. She was a bright girl but very cold, closed off. She didn't even attempt to have a relationship with me. All I know is that her mother was a drug addict who sold her for crack when she was three. She'd been in the system since then."

"Thank you so much your help Ms. Glendale, we'll be in contact." Scotty hung up the phone and gave the information to Will.

"Foster child, I'll call social services in New York." He walked up to Will and related the information.

After thirty minutes they had Lillian Shepherd files. "Twenty foster homes. This woman was the poster child for abuse in the system. Fractured legs, cuts, scrapes, she went through hell." Kat said sadly.

"But she made it, she was fighter." Scotty said while looking at her pictures. He looked at little girl six or seven, sad eyes, the same girl, older fifteen or sixteen, with a black eye and a split lip. "She became a heart surgeon, when I called admissions and the hospital they talked very highly of her. She took out loans, scholarships, and awards. Lillian Shepherd was a superstar." For the first time, Scotty looked at the woman and saw his own _Cielo_, his Lil.

Stillman wanted to know about the case. The detectives filled him in. Stillman watched the blonde and blue-eyed victim and then looked at Scotty. The younger detective felt that his boss saw Lil in the victim too. "Daniel Wright might shed some light into this. So far we have no suspects, Kat and Nick you'll go to the hospital tomorrow and talk to the surgical staff. Will and Scotty you both talk to Mr. Wright. Lilly I just heard from the D.A. You have to be at court tomorrow morning." Scotty saw Lil nod and go to her desk. Stillman went back to his office.

They worked until they had all the information they needed to know more about their victim and worked on some possible angles. So far they only had Daniel, and a foster parent. Lillian Shepherd filed a restraining order against Peter Wyatt. He was in jail for rape; he'd been in prison when Shepherd died. "We ought to check on him." Will offered.

"I'm beat, I'm going home. Come on Lil, I'm driving you home." Scotty grabbed his car-keys from the drawer. He glanced at Lil, who kept reading a file. He went to her desk and leaned into her as if he too was interested in the file. "Hurry up, we have to go Lil. You promised me." He pushed the papers down.

Lilly looked at him and stood up. "Just because my car is still at the mechanic." She grabbed her purse, took the folder and waved goodbye to Will. Nick and Kat left thirty minutes before.

They made their way to the car; as usual Scotty drove like a maniac. He had reason to do so now. He couldn't wait to get home and inside of Lilly. "Slow down. We're going to get into an accident." Lilly said half seriously.

"No, we're not." He kissed her hand and kept his eyes on the road.

He backed her into the door and kissed her punishingly, he wanted her. He wasn't doing soft tonight. She moaned deeply, "you really want this don't you." She bit his lower lip and turned around. Scotty nuzzled her earlobe. Her hands trembled when she tried to open the door. "Let me" he whispered and moved his hand over hers. He turned the key in and they were inside.

Scotty removed her long coat, he heard one of the cats yowl, but didn't pay much attention to it. He smiled when Lilly jumped on him. "I want you too Scotty." She giggled when dropped her to the bed. "So how do you want me detective." She said coyly.

He smirked undoing the buttons of her blouse, "naked, under me, moaning, calling out my name." He said as he rid her of the shirt and her bra. She wasn't taking prisoners either. Lil rid him of the shirt, undershirt and pants in record time.

He held her hands above her head. "You are to be quiet Lil, don't move. I'm taking my sweet time with you tonight. Maybe if you behave, you'll get to touch me."

She smiled, "Who says I wanna touch you?" She teased him.

He kissed her passionately, "by the end of the night. You'll be begging to touch me _Cielo_. I'll ruin you for any other man."

Lilly gave him a challenging look. She looked at him and accepted his challenge. Scotty was good, no doubt about that but she didn't think he would carry out his promise. Lilly wasn't promiscuous but most of her partners hadn't been lacking in the bedroom department. She had fond memories with her past lovers. She doubted Scotty Valens would make her forget her past experiences or ruin her for other men.

She watched as he carefully removed her bra and teased her nipples. He was hot when he looked at her like that. She felt desired and those brown eyes would be the death of her. He licked her right nipple and twisted the other one. He kept looking at her humming, moaning rubbing his fingers in time with his tongue. Lilly enjoyed his little teasing act. She expected his hands to go lower, where he wanted him to be. Scotty kissed her ribs, her belly bottom and then raised one of her legs. He massaged her calf and ran his fingers over it. Lilly didn't want him to think that she was giving up, but the fact was that Scotty took his sweet time, kissing biting teasing her legs, arms. He spent hours just touching her, teasing her whole body but never where she wanted to. He shushed her when she asked him to touch her. "You promised to be quiet _Cielo_." His raspy voice said. He was aroused; she could tell by his eyes, they had darkened to that telltale impossible shade of brown. She rubbed her legs together "no, no Lil, you're not allowed to do that." he separated her legs forcibly. Lilly sighed internally; he was going to finally do something.

He bit her inner thigh, soothing the mark with his tongue. "You smell wonderful Lil. Do you want me to kiss you here?" he ran his fingers over her slit and she almost came. She was so turned on by his attitude.

"Answer me _Cielo_." He looked up innocently at her, "Yes." She thought she would be stronger and hold out but the sight of Scotty between her legs scrambled her brains.

"You have to say please." He grinned when she pulled him up and kissed him. He didn't respond. She looked confused, "No, it's going to be my way Lil or no way." He said in full control of his body. Lilly couldn't say the same about hers. She wanted him bad.

She whined and lay down on the bed again. "That's much better." He sucked on her pouty lower lip.

"Now. No touching. I don't think you're ready yet Lil. Maybe I have to kiss you here, here, and here." He dropped gentle kisses to her chin, ear and where Ed Marteson shot her. He paid especial attention to the scarred skin.

He looked into her eyes one more time before lowering his body to hers, he wore his underwear, she saw him removing her soaked panties. She couldn't take it anymore. This wasn't her; it was like a stranger had taken over her body. Never had she felt this need to have someone as bad as she wanted him in that moment. She felt unfulfilled, she didn't want his mouth, and Lilly wanted him inside her. "No Scotty please, I want you inside."

He frowned, "I want to taste you Lil." He licked her a little, She breathed deeply at the wonderful sensation that was his mouth against her intimate place.

She was tired of the game. She could do this; she would have him now, hard as fast. She pounced on him and removed his boxers in record speed. She straddled him, "No more games, you won. I've waited patiently for over an hour. Now I want you."

He wasn't about to be overpowered by Lil. He flipped them over back to their previous position. He held her hands above her head one more time and she whined frustrated. She looked so much better than any of his fantasies, when he first started the game he wanted her to become undone. He realized that she was at the end of her patience and she would storm out if he didn't comply now. That didn't mean she would have her way, not completely. "I call the shots Rush." He removed his hands from hers. She wanted him under her but it was impossible, she tried to flip them, but he ground against her and held her hostage under him.

"I told you, you would be under me, begging for my touch." She snorted, "I haven't begged Valens." Scotty smirked and rubbed his cock over her opening. "You don't have to say the words. Your whole body is begging mine to take it. You want this just as much as I want it." He whispered against her ear and bit it.

She shivered and moaned. He was right. She wanted him; she'd always been the aggressor, the one who took the initiative. But here was Scotty Valens informing her that she wanted to be at his mercy. She realized she didn't care. She didn't always have to be in control. She actually wanted Scotty to take the lead. She didn't have time to properly say anything because Scotty read it in her eyes. The total trust and submission, he saw the desire mirrored in her eyes.

He entered her, "Fuck." He hissed, Lilly moaned loudly. She thought she would feel powerless but looking at Scotty barely controlled infused her with power and thrill she'd never felt before, he was right. He was ruining her for other men.

"Scotty, I, I want hard and fast." She moaned softly when he increased the pace of his thrusts. Soon they were moving frantically against each other. Lilly couldn't close her eyes. She didn't want to miss a second, a facial expression, anything. She wanted to see his beautiful face and those deep dark brown eyes. He pounded her into the mattress. It was so erotic, she couldn't speak, and she was beyond words and sounds. This was pure, hot energy, she gasped every time he slid back into her. Scotty moved above her barely constrained. He loved her face, the little sounds she was making. All he could hear was the bed creaking and her muted noises. He wasn't one to be loud during sex; he whispered things on her ear. "Fuck _Cielo_, you feel so good, so damn good against me." She came and gripped him hard. He continued with his hard and fast thrusts, "Scotty, I don't think I can come again, too much, is too much." She tried to push him away, her eyes rolling behind her eyelids.

"Sure you can _Cielo_." He kissed her forcefully, moving in and out of her, she was a mess, no longer in control of the noises she was making. He rejoiced in those noises, they weren't loud or fake. They drove him wild, he looked into her eyes and that was his breaking point. He jerked inside of her and left out a groan. He didn't recognize his own voice. He dropped to her breasts and kissed her beating heart.

He kissed her lips. They were sweaty and breathless. "We're not doing the teasing part again. You've made your point Valens, we can skip to the part where we have mind-blowing, out of this world sex." She kissed his cheeks, nose and mouth. He moaned. "You'll have to wait until I recover _Cielo_." He groaned as he set next to her. She rolled and rested her head on his chest. "I'm tired doll face. You'll have to wait until tomorrow." She yawned and he kissed her head and closed his eyes too.


	16. Chapter 16

I don't own Cold Case.

There are two things I want to address.

1) I've read the reviews and I thank you all deeply for your thoughts. I've written a lot for this story, is not really as organized as I would like to be. I'm in the process of editing. I will tone down the racy scenes; I don't mean to offend anyone. I assure you the plot is there. Please keep reading and reviewing. This chapter is important for the plot.

2) This story has as of today more than twenty-five chapters and then it will be a crossover with Law and Order SVU. I need to know if you guys would be all right with that. I can end this story before the crossover. The crossover will only mean that there would be mentions of SVU characters such as Olivia and Munch. I would only be working with plotlines after the 13th season and I would be using them very loosely. I admit I only started watching SVU because of Danny Pino and my mind started to wonder, I would be replacing Nick Amaro (Pino's character on SVU) with Scotty Valens. By the way, I've only seen the last two SVU seasons. I've seen other episodes but I wouldn't be incorporating any plotlines that do not include Danny Pino's character. This story would be Scotty/Lilly all the way. It is and will be about their development. Please let me know what you would like to see happening.

Chapter 16

His cellphone woke them up. She picked it up, "hello, Hi Rosa." She said sleepily, they couldn't have slept more than five hours. She blearily checked on the clock it was 7:00 AM. "Rosa, why are you calling me this early?" She felt Scotty stir behind her and pull her close to him. He sighed and threw a leg over her body.

"Lilly, I called Scotty's cellphone." Rosa said happily.

Lilly looked at her cellphone. "We must have switched cellphones at work." She said lamely. "Of course _cariño_, could you tell him to come by tonight? I'm making his favorite dinner. You can come too if you want." Lilly hummed when Scotty's fingers caressed her belly.

"Thank you Rosa. I'll tell him when I see him at work." She hung up. Lilly turned around and kissed his mouth. "Morning handsome. Your mother called you. She wants you to have dinner with her tonight." She said calmly.

"You picked up my phone?" He asked, he expected her to freak out. She didn't want to tell anyone about them yet. He looked at her sleepy face, "Why aren't you freaking out?" She smiled and ran her fingers through his hair. "I don't know. Your family is going to know either way and Rosa has been hinting that I should date for a long time. She even gave me Arturo's number." Scotty frowned, "you didn't call him did you?" She smirked, "I didn't."

He kissed her softly, "good, so we are having dinner at my parents'" he stretched and climbed over her. He pulled her up with him and they showered together.

They managed to make it on time, "Lilly, you have to go. The D.A. already called twice." Vera related the message as soon as she got in.

She nodded and ran out the door. Scotty grabbed a cup of coffee from the break room. He saw Will escort Mr. Wright. He finished his coffee and joined Will in the interrogation room.

"Good morning. I'm detective Valens, you already know detective Jeffries." Scotty introduced himself and sat in front of him. "Daniel Wright." The man said simply. He looked like hell, his eyes wee bloodshot red and he looked pale.

"Daniel, we found these next to Lillian's body." Will pushed the plane ticket and the silver necklace. He also showed him a picture of the victim's body.

Daniel's voice shook, and tears spilled from his eyes. "I don't want to see her like that. That's not how I want to remember Lilly." He pulled out a scrapbook, "this is my Lil. Detective Jeffries you have to find whoever did that to her." Daniel looked at Will sharply.

Scotty stepped in, "Mr. Wright, I'm getting that you weren't just friends. Did you know she was a foster kid? That she'd been in the system since she was three years old?" The man nodded. "I knew her better than anyone. It was very hard and painful for her to talk about her childhood but we didn't have secrets. We were best friends. She was my life. We met our intern year. She was so cold, standoffish. She wouldn't speak to anyone for a whole month until we got stuck in an elevator. She was claustrophobic. One of her foster parents locked her up in a closet for a day when she was seven." He said sadly. Wright gulped some water down. "We became friends after that; she was the smartest, toughest woman I've met. She intimidated me; we were friends for years. We could talk about anything. We were so close and then it all went to hell." Daniel smiled ruefully. "I almost lost her then, she started dating some guy she met at a bar. I was so jealous. It hit me then, I was in love with her. I told her and she freaked out."

"But you remained friends, didn't you. You bought her that necklace in 2007." Scotty said firmly.

Wright nodded and smiled, a true smile. Scotty thought he was remembering something. "That guy from the bar, she ended things with him three days after I told her I loved her. She came to my apartment one night and said, "You're my best friend, I don't want to lose you but I think I'm love with you." "She said make it stop." Daniel cried.

Scotty felt very uncomfortable, Will was right he didn't do it. "Do you know how afraid we were?"

Scotty nodded, Daniel continued, "suddenly things are not the same, it was like a switch went off in our heads. We were always close friends but after that night we became inseparable. We moved together after two months. We never put labels; I never told her I loved her again. I wish I had. I gave her that necklace, we became friends that day in the elevator, that's the date engraved in the necklace."

"She knew." Scotty said trying to convince Daniel and himself.

"I got an opportunity to work in Africa. I wanted Lil to marry me; I wanted her to come with me to Africa. I shouldn't have pushed her. She withdrew from me, I gave her an ultimatum; the night before my plane left I grabbed my bags and went into the hospital, I had the night shift. I bought her a plane ticket to Spain. I said, "We don't have to get married, I just want you by my side. I'll wait for you at the airport." She never showed up. I thought that she didn't love me. I thought she chose her career over us."

Scotty shook his head, "She withdrew money and had the plane ticket. She was going to meet you Daniel. She chose you." Daniel looked into his eyes. "We'll find who did this. I promise." Scotty knew he shouldn't have said that but it was like he was seeing himself in this man. He couldn't stop picturing his Lilly.

He wouldn't know what to do with himself if he ever lost her. Losing Elisa was tragic, but when she died he was getting used to the idea of not having her in his life. Scotty knew that sooner or later Elisa wouldn't be part of his life. If he lost Lilly, that would end him. Scotty had no doubt about that. "Daniel, do you have someone that can verify your whereabouts for that night?" Will asked, he wanted to rule Wright out.

Daniel nodded, "Of course, you can check the hospital logs."

"Do you know of anyone who could have wanted to hurt her?" Will asked.

Daniel shook his head, "She didn't have any enemies or a lot of friends. Everyone respected her drive, ambition and intelligence." They escorted Daniel out. "Daniel, the pain, it wont go away but it'll hurt less and less." Will said to the man.

Scotty looked at Will, "Are you ok?" he asked his colleague. "Yeah, it's just, he didn't expect it. It brings back memories." Scotty clapped him on the back.

Scotty felt the need to call Lilly right now. He wanted to hear her voice. He went into the empty observation room. "Hey _Cielo_, where are you?" He asked happily.

"In the Court Room's bathroom. I'm done testifying." He heard her say.

"Do we have a break in the case?" she asked.

"Not yet, I just interviewed Daniel Wright. He didn't do it. Will is checking his alibi."

"So, why did you call me?" He could picture the smirk on her face.

"I wanted to hear your voice." He said seriously. "I don't want to do dinner with my parents tonight. Why don't we go out, just the two of us. We'll go that Italian place that you like."

"Like a date." She sounded excited. He realized that they were a couple. He wanted Lil to be on the same page.

"Yeah, like a date, we'll go after work. I'll call my mom and let her know that we won't be going tonight."

"You do that handsome." She flirted. He could imagine her mischievous eyes.

"I wish you were here." He said, "I want to kiss you right now." He heard her laugh, "Let's not go there right now. I'll see you at work."

He wore a huge grin when he came out of that room. Kat and Nick were back. "Not a lot of people liked Lillian. They respected her, as a professional but not many people liked her. All we got was that she was a very private person and that she lost a patient the day before she was murdered." Nick reported.

"No threats to her person, only healthy professional rivalry as far as anyone can ascertain." Kat said. "Just as Daniel said." Scotty remarked joining the other detectives.

"The chief of cardiothoracic surgery received an email the night she was murdered. Her resignation letter." Kat pushed a paper on his desk.

"You were right, she was going to meet Daniel that night. Daniel's alibi checks out, so does the chief of surgery's" Will mused out loud.

"How did she end up in the badlands? Do we have her cellphone records for that night?" Scotty asked.

Nick nodded, "No calls made or received that night. Nothing, we're stuck." He said from his desk.

Lilly came into the office with lunch, "I went to Geno's" she said and handed out food to the detectives. She caught up with the case, "we should check on her patients." She said. "We have nothing connecting her with any of her colleagues or Daniel but what about her patients?"

They got to work after that. Scotty stayed back. He moved behind her chair and dropped a kiss to her neck when he was sure no one could see them. "We leave at 5:00 PM." He kissed her cheek soundly. She giggled raised her head to kiss him softly on the mouth.

Will and him worked the patients' angles while the others interviewed more people. Stillman ordered DNA testing on Lillian's body again, to check if the investigators missed something. They would know results in a couple of days.

Scotty and Lilly were out of the door by 5:15. They got into his car and drove back home. It made sense to change and leave the car home. Their house was within walking distance of the restaurant and the movie theater.

They held hands while walking, "This is nice." She said as he put an arm around her. "Yeah." He kissed her nose and they crossed the street. They had a lovely dinner. Lil wanted to take a walk.

Scotty kissed her and caressed her hair. "Lil, what are we?" He asked half afraid of her answer.

They were in front of the movie theater, waiting in line to buy tickets. He was taller than her even with her heels. "We're best friends." She said and smiled prettily at him.

"I know that but best friends don't do what we did last night." He kept it light, trying to get her to define them before he could.

She kissed him, "I don't want to say you're my boyfriend because that sounds like we are fourteen." She said close to his face.

"Excuse me you're holding the line." A teenaged boy said behind them. "I don't want to watch a movie. Let's walk, she grabbed his hand and they walked down the street.

They went into a park and sat on a bench. They still held hands. "So what are we?" Scotty prodded again.

She kissed his hand. "We're in a committed relationship Scotty." He looked at her and kissed her tenderly.

"No running ok." It sounded more like a question. He was terrified of losing her, watching Daniel break down today made it worse. They started sleeping together two nights ago but it felt like they had been together for years.

She looked scared for three seconds before he grabbed her hands and kissed them. He smiled at her and she smiled back "No running." Lilly kissed his lips. He grinned against them, he hugged her and she laughed happily.


	17. Chapter 17

Please read and review

Chapter 17

It was New Year's Eve and they were still stuck on the Shepherd case. They interviewed staff, foster home parents, and patients. No lead, nothing to go from. Scotty looked at different papers and even medical charts. Will and Nick were already gone. They gave up just before 6:00 PM. Kat didn't come to work; she had an evening thing with Veronica. It was just he, Lil and Boss.

He felt her massage his shoulders and neck. "Let's go Valens, Rosa called me twenty minutes ago. It's 8:00 PM, you won't find anything tonight." He looked at Boss's office he had his back to them, and even if he turned he couldn't see them. They were at an angle. He leaned into her hands and she massaged his temples. "I don't wanna go to no dinner _Cielo_." She turned his chair around; he rested his head on her midriff. "I just want to close this case Lil. Daniel calls every day and…"

"It's only been four days Scotty." She reasoned with him. "I know Lil but we have nothing, we aren't closer to finding who did this to her." He was tired and just wanted to go home and hug Lil tight all night.

"We promised we would go." She kissed his lips and grabbed his hand. "Get your coat. We're going to your parents', we'll stay for half an hour and then we'll go home. I'll give you a massage." She rubbed his temples and kissed his forehead. He reluctantly stood up; Lilly led him to Boss's office. "Night Boss, Happy New Year." Lilly said cheerily.

"Happy New Year Boss." Scotty said.

"Same to you Lil, Scotty." Stillman waved them goodbye.

They were at the Valens's in half an hour. "Scotty, you look tired." Rosa fussed over him. Lilly greeted her and then left her partner to deal with his mother. She went into the kitchen; Allie was making plates for the kids. Ramiro was cutting up fruit.

"Hi Lil. So good to see you." Allie hugged her. "Are you hungry, I can make you a plate. We usually eat later but the kids were starving." She said in a rush.

"I'm good, I'll wait for Scotty." Lilly kissed Emilio on the cheek, "Ew, ew, ew. Auntie Lil." Lilly laughed, this was the first time Emilio called him that. She looked at Allie who shrugged but smiled knowingly. Rosa must have told her about the call mix up. She didn't care; these past four days with Scotty had been pure bliss. She was on cloud nine, and couldn't be happier. It was enough that she had to pretend in front of her friends at work. She wouldn't pretend in front of his family.

He came into the doorway with Mike and Rosa. "Ma, I just want to have dinner and sleep. I'm tired, Lil tell her how much work I have to do tomorrow." He looked pleadingly at her. She smiled at Rosa "He's tired. But we're not going to work tomorrow, we all have the day off." Lilly said happily.

Scotty frowned, this was so uncommon, Lil was the one who wanted to always work and here she was telling him that they weren't working. "Lil, You should have told me. I would have taken the files home. I still have to read the charts for five more patients." He pouted, Rosa went to the stove, and Mike walked to his children.

Lilly came close to Scotty and kissed the pout away. He smiled and kissed her back. "I thought you didn't want people to know yet." He grinned when Emilio called them out. "Ew, auntie Lilly kissed uncle Scotty on the mouth." Ale giggled.

"I told you they would say something tonight." Mike said loudly to his wife.

Rosa squealed and hugged them both, "Finally. How long have you been dating?" She asked happily.

Lil decided to come clean, she was just tired, and it was harder to keep up with the charade that Scotty was living at his apartment. "Four days but we've been living together ever since Scotty got into that accident." Scotty coughed up some of the water he was drinking. Rosa's smile couldn't get wider. "That's wonderful." She hugged her harder. "I knew you belonged together." Lilly felt so accepted by this family.

Scotty kissed her cheek and they sat for dinner. Rosa had many questions about her trip to L.A. "Your sister's pregnant again, that's wonderful." Ramiro said.

Allie and Mike looked at each other, "We have an announcement to make." Allie said happily.

"I'm expecting again, I'm three months along." Allie finished.

A round of congratulations in both English and Spanish ensued. Lilly felt happier with these people than with her own family. Her dad called her and invited her to New Year's Eve dinner but she told him she had plans. She didn't feel guilty because Rosa invited her since Scotty's birthday party. Lilly laughed, and kissed Allie. Scotty's previous ideas of leaving after thirty minutes were dashed when they went outside. It was snowing hard, "There's no way we're getting home tonight, not with this weather." She pulled him back inside. "Snowstorm." Scotty went back inside. It was 11:00 PM. The kids were already upstairs sleeping.

"You were supposed to stay either way." Ramiro shrugged and drank more from his sangria. "Yeah Pops but I bet you weren't counting on Mike and Allie with the kids. "We actually were. Mike, Allie and the kids will stay at your old room. You and Lilly take the guest room. Everything resolved." Lilly could see that Scotty wanted to just go home and sleep. He smiled and joked around but he didn't fool her.

They welcomed the New Year together. They had glass of champagne and toasted to the New Year. They hugged and kissed each other. Scotty kissed her lovingly; she hugged him and kissed his neck.

Ten minutes later the Valens's were talking, listening to music, even dancing. Lilly smiled Scotty however looked dead tired. He looked at her and at least she could carry out part of her plan for tonight. She had enjoyed herself; it was time for Scotty to relax. "Rosa, where would Scotty and I be sleeping?" she said masterfully faking a yawn.

Scotty stood up. "I'll take her. Good night." He led her upstairs to the guest room. "Thank you _mi Cielo_." He dropped to the bed and closed his eyes. He felt her straddling him. Her small hands ran over his chest. She undid his tie, unbuttoned his shirt and helped him out the undershirt. "_Cielo_, _angel_, my mind is willing but my body…" he said, he really felt tired, stressed out and just lousy. "Shush, I'm going to make you feel good Scotty."

"Lie on your back, I'm going to give you that massage right now." He smiled and puckered his lips. She pecked him and motioned for him to do as he was told. "Lose the pants Valens."

"Only if you lose your clothes too." He whispered nuzzling her neck as he stood up. "Ok." She undressed until she was only wearing her underwear. "Now go lie on the bed." he did as he was told.

Soon Lilly's hands were soothing away the pain on his muscles. She massaged his back; peppered butterfly kisses along his spine and shoulder blades. "That feels wonderful Lil." He said against the pillow. She kneaded all the knots on his back. He felt the stress seep away.

He felt sleepy, relaxed. Lilly took the stress away; he moved a little and pulled her next to him on the bed. "Thank you Lil." He kissed the corner of her mouth. He felt her kiss his face; he slept with a smile on his face.


	18. Chapter 18

I don't own Cold Case

Thank you all for your wonderful reviews. Overall I have been very much encouraged by your feedback. Special thanks to princesshikari99, Tari Lovegood, Blue Squint, imsoproudofyou, WithEveryBreath101, Lilly and the anonymous reviewers.

Please keep reading and reviewing. More reviews equal faster updates (wink, wink) :::: ::::.

**Mature content ahead, (towards the middle to be exact.)**

Chapter 18

Scotty was on a cemetery; he wore a black suit and dark shades. Somebody died, he saw his mom, dad, Mike, Allie, the children. Mom was carrying a beautiful baby girl. He was drawn to her; she couldn't be older than three. "Daddy." She said a little sadly. The baby had fair blond hair and piercing blue eyes. Scotty smiled and took her into his arms.

"I'm so sorry Scotty." Ma hugged him hard. Scotty didn't understand, he turned around and saw Boss and the squad.

Will approached him, "Son, the pain, it will hurt less as time goes by." Scotty looked confused, "What are you talking about?" the baby on his arms rested her little head on his chest. She looked just like her mom, just like Lilly.

Scotty smiled, "Where's Lil?" he asked to his mom. "Oh, _mijito_." She started crying uncontrollably. He panicked when he couldn't find her anywhere. He yelled out her name. Chased after people with a crying baby on his arms. The little girl cried silently, he tried to console her, why was she crying? They would find Lil; she had to be here somewhere. Suddenly he found a tombstone. He read the tombstone. "Lillian Valens, beloved wife and mother."

"No, no, no, no." He was hyperventilating; tears ran down his face, it couldn't be happening. The little girl cried too. He hugged her and cried hard. "No Lilly, Lil. _Cielo_, no." He wailed desperately.

He heard someone call his name out. He cried harder, he was going crazy. It sounded like Lil's voice but it couldn't be because she was dead. Lilly was gone, she was dead. He closed his eyes and he could hear her voice calling him from the death. He cried and held his daughter, his last link to Lil. He looked at her and she was gone too. A tombstone appeared next to Lil's. He had nothing, they were both dead, "No Lilly, please don't…" he opened his eyes again. He wasn't in the cemetery anymore. He was in bed, Lil was next to him, and she looked worried. He hugged her tightly, nuzzling her neck and kissing her shoulder. "You were trashing, pleading, calling my name." She held him to her.

Lilly was a little scared; she was the one with the night terrors. Scotty never had nightmares or so she thought. She woke up when he whimpered her name. He trashed and cried. Lilly called his name, and shook him. He sat up and hugged her. "This case, I just keep picturing you gone. I don't know what I would do Lilly. _Cielo_ I." His voice broke down. Lilly kissed his cheek. "I don't think I could go on Lil." He sobbed. Scotty seldom cried. He was the guy who punched something. He was really scared, the few times she'd seen him cry had been during his mom's case and Elisa. Not so much during Elisa because he shut her out, "It was just a bad dream…" She soothed him. He held onto her and calmed down after a few minutes. "Do you want me to get you anything?" She tried to move but he didn't let go of her.

"_Cielo_ don't, just stay with me." He lie down and pulled her with him. Lilly could still tell that he was tense. She kissed his lips and chin. "Scotty, it was just a nightmare ok?" She ran her fingers over his chest, the action soothed him; he kissed her head and relaxed back to sleep again.

She could tell next morning that he didn't sleep well. He looked tired. She stretched out and kissed him sweetly. "Good morning Valens." She straddled him and kissed him again. He flipped her, she laughed when he tickled her and kissed her back.

She thought it was only a little make out session but before she knew it he was trying to get her bra off. "Scotty, we're at your parents' house." She moaned when he hummed and mouthed one of her breasts. "Do we have protection?" She asked, she was enjoying this too much. He nodded and went to get his wallet. He came back to the bed, "this has to be quick; I don't want your mother catching us in the middle of something." Lilly said quickly. "Shush Lil don't ruin the moment." They were as quiet as possible. Lilly whimpered but Scotty was intense. He moved fast between her legs and kept kissing her to keep her moans and whimpers to a minimum. "Scotty, you feel so good." She looked at his face and loved the fact that she could undo him; bring him so much pleasure like this. It was empowering, she kissed and caressed his neck and ear. He was quiet and came with a groan; she contracted around him, arching her back. She welcomed his weight. "We should get up and go home before your mother guilt trips me into staying for lunch." She said after catching her breath.

He smiled against her ear; he kissed her some more before getting up. "Come on, we'll shower and then go home and do whatever you want." He pulled her up. They made it across the hall and showered quickly. Scotty had bags under his eyes but he was in a better mood than yesterday. She had her cocky lover back. He was affectionate, more than usual. It seemed like it finally downed on him that they were a couple and he could touch her face, her hair and give her random kisses at random times. She enjoyed this sweet part of him. "Scotty, stop it." He trailed kisses on her face, neck and shoulders. They were in the shower, washing the suds off. She laughed, grabbing his face and giving him a big kiss of her own. "We can continue this when we get home handsome." She winked at him.

They made it to the kitchen without much hassle. The elder Valens were still asleep. Mike and Emilio were downstairs watching TV. "Mike, tell Ma and Pops that Lil and I had to go." They kissed Emilio and Mike goodbye.

"Ew auntie Lil." Emilio wiped the kiss off his cheek. She smiled at the little boy. "Bye Mike, congratulations again." He smiled at her and kissed her cheek.

Scotty sighed when he saw their cats. "Home sweet home." He grabbed the cat bowls and poured them food and water.

He saw Lil go straight into the bedroom. "I'm waiting Valens." He heard her say. He smiled, and went straight ahead. She wore on his old t-shirts and her hair was up. There were a couple of lotion bottles by the side drawer. "I promised you a massage, you're tense Scotty." She stepped closer to him and kissed him. He loved her sweet kisses; he couldn't ever get enough of her.

Hours later he contemplated her sleeping figure. She looked angelic; they spent the whole day in bed, enjoying each other. Kissing, touching, loving each moment they were together. The nightmare from the night before was still an ugly reminder of his fears. He traced a finger over her face and smiled when she pouted. She was captivating; he couldn't believe she was with him like this. He pulled her naked body and spooned her. She whined and turned to kiss him a little, "do you feel better now?" she asked sleepily. "Yeah _Cielo_." He replied softly.


	19. Chapter 19

I don't own Cold Case.

Thank you Tari Lovegood, imsoproudofyou, princesshikari99 and Blue Squint for your kind reviews. To all of you who are reading the story thanks too. Please read and review .

Chapter 19

A few months later Scotty was still working on the Shepherd case. He and Will worked on it while investigating other cases. It was increasingly frustrating, they had no leads, and the detectives lost count of how many interviews they conducted. Stillman had been very clear, if after three weeks there were no more leads the detectives had to place cases back in storage. Will and him had fought tooth and nail to keep it actively open but Boss decided to pull the plug.

It was a sad event when Scotty called Daniel to update him, "Hey Dan, how you doing?" Scotty and Will became very familiar with Wright. He called every week to know if they had solved his girlfriend's murder. "Listen we haven't had any breakthroughs in Lillian's case. The department has this policy, if there's nothing after three weeks we have to put it back." Scotty explained.

It was painful for him to do so, "Daniel, detective Jeffries and me, we're still looking. We haven't given up. I won't, you know that. I'll find whoever did it." Scotty said vehemently. That night he'd gone back home with Lil and held her closer than usual. He fidgeted and had nightmares; it was becoming increasingly apparent that this case was affecting him. Lilly approached the subject a week after he made Daniel's phone call.

He was awake going over the file and the crime scene one more time. He was on their makeshift study. A desk by the living room, he felt her kiss his neck. She sat on his lap. "You weren't in bed." She said as explanation as to why she sat on his lap. He smiled at her and kissed her delicately. He remained quiet, pensive, slowly looking at her, combing his fingers through her hair.

She looked worried, "What's going on Scotty?" she asked, her eyes shining with curiosity and concern.

"Nothing Lil. I'm fine, just going over some notes on the Shepherd case." he said as normally as possible.

Lilly frowned, "You know I'm the first person to advocate when it comes to keeping cold cases actively open." She started.

Scotty knew her, "But?" he continued.

She looked nervous, and a little sad. "This case, it's getting to you Scotty. I know you and Will feel a special connection due to the fact that you both lost the loves of your lives unexpectedly. I know what Elisa meant to you but you're starting to obsess…" He interrupted her.

"_Cielo_, Elisa was very dear to me, my first love. My childhood sweetheart but this has nothing to do with her." Lilly looked doubtful.

Scotty looked at her, "Every time I see Lillian Shepherd, I see you and I start imagining the ways I could lose you. I could have been Daniel, I try to stop, but it haunts me. She was his best friend. He's lost Lil, the least I can do is bring him closure." He said honestly.

Lilly looked into his brown eyes. To her he looked so much older, "Nothing we do will ever bring her back. I just, I feel powerless, and I can do something Lil. I can catch whoever killed her." He rested his head on hers and continued. "He's so sad, _Cielo_, every time we talk he brings her up. I can't help but think about my life without you. It hurts so much because I couldn't be strong like Daniel is. Lil if I lost you like that I would go insane." He said looking straight into her blue eyes.

She hugged him to her, "I could never do it either Scotty. The time you were in surgery that was the worst time of my life." She clung to him. He looked so lost; she wanted to reassure him, to make him feel better. "I know you and Will are going to be very much involved with this case. I just don't want to you to hurt Scotty. Daniel deserves closure but think about us. You're not sleeping well or eating well. I have to practically shove food on your mouth. You'll get sick." She said seriously.

Scotty smiled and kissed her one more time. "I'll make you a deal, I'll go back to bed in fifteen more minutes." He said giving her a smile. She leapt from his lap and went back to their bedroom. Fifteen minutes ended up being thirty. She was glad when she felt the mattress dip. She turned around and feigned to be asleep. She hugged him; Lil was going to take care of him. Scotty was always the one telling her to take it easy. Now it was her turn to make sure that he made it through.

True to her promise Lilly made sure that Scotty ate, and slept as much as possible under the circumstances. The whole squad noticed his involvement with the Shepherd case. Even Will worried. Scotty was putting in the hours for their other cases but he went back to Shepherd's file. She felt like she was losing him. He was there with her but his mind was always on the case. It went on until a Friday afternoon, Lilly had enough, and she went to Stillman's office with Jeffries by her side.

"I need to talk to you both." She said and closed the door behind her.

"You need to stop him." She said to her boss.

Stillman looked confused and then looked at Will. Lilly continued, "Scotty is not managing. He's working double, he is not sleeping well either. Every morning he comes in looking like a zombie. He needs more than three cups of coffee to start his day. He's exhausted Boss."

"Lil I don't know what you want me to do? I already pulled the plug on the case. Scotty can go back to the Shepherd case whenever he pleases." Stillman argued and looked at Will for support.

The black man stood up. "No, this is your fault. You practically guilt tripped him into diving into the case." Lilly said straight to Will.

The older detective had never experienced Lil's anger, "Lilly, Scotty wants to do this…"

Lilly looked furious, "No, he feels like he has to do this, "I thought you would understand" "remember telling him that." She said angrily.

"Boss, he's not doing well with this. Wright calls every day." She turned to Scotty. "I don't see you talking to Daniel, telling that there's nothing yet." She spat at Will.

The detective shook his head, "You don't get it Lil. Scotty has to do this, it will haunt him if he doesn't."

Lilly ignored him and looked at Stillman. "Are you going to do something about it?"

The older man shook his head. "It's not my call Lil, the Shepherd case is not interfering with his work. I have no grounds."

"You mean yet, because it will interfere." Lilly said as she left the office.

She was seething, Nick and Kat stayed away from her. Scotty was on the break room, once again calling Lillian Shepherd's patients. She didn't want to go in there, she felt so angry that Boss didn't help her.

She huffed and scheduled an interview with a new suspect. She worked from her desk, stealing glances at Scotty's desk. By 5:00 PM he looked tired and ready to drop on his desk. She stood up. "Come on, you're going home." She said to him loudly. She was sure Kat and Nick heard them. Will was inside Boss's office. Their floor only had the security outside their offices.

"Lil, I have to make some more calls," he said dismissingly.

She was about to argue with him when it happened. Scotty looked at the door and he moved to the door. Lilly looked and saw Daniel Wright.

Scotty moved to the entrance, "Daniel are you ok?" the man shook his head. Scotty led him to the interrogation room but Daniel resisted. "I can't do it anymore. I can't, the person who did that to her is still out there and I can't detective Valens." Daniel said loudly, shaking Scotty's hand off his shoulder.

"Dan stop, you need to sleep it off. Have you been drinking?" her partner asked the man.

"Every day since I came here. I can't, I just can't." Daniel pulled out a knife.

Lilly pulled out her gun. She saw Nick and Kat stand up. "Drop the knife. Mr. Wright." Lilly said clearly. Daniel looked at her, Scotty tried to get the knife but Daniel was faster. He moved and waved the knife close to Scotty's torso. "Drop the knife." Lilly repeated.

Stillman and Will came out of the room too. They heard Lilly yell, Scotty looked back at them, "drop the guns now." Scotty shouted to his colleagues. Nick and Kat did so but Lilly trained hers at Daniel who kept looking at her. "Lil, please lower your gun." Scotty pleaded. Lilly looked at him and lowered it still held it. "Her name is Lil? She looks like Lilly." He whispered.

"Yeah, her name is Lillian Rush." Scotty said and moved closer to Daniel.

"But she isn't her. My Lil, her hair was dirty blond and her eyes were bluer." Daniel cried a little.

"Dan, I'm doing all I can." Scotty said desperately.

"It's not enough." Daniel pulled the knife to his own throat.

"Don't do that." Scotty said.

"You don't get it detective Valens. She was my best friend…"

Scotty looked directly at him, "I don't get it, you're right. All I can do is imagine what it would be like." Scotty laughed a little. "Even thinking about what you go through every day it makes me sick to my stomach. I don't think I could go on Dan, if I lost my Lil I would go crazy. I didn't know her but if she was anything like my Lil. She wouldn't have liked me to give up." Scotty said quietly to Daniel. He didn't want the detectives to know about Lil and him.

Daniel lowered the knife. "I miss her so much." He said tiredly. Scotty nodded and took the knife away from his hands. "Let's get out of here." Scotty grabbed his coat and went out leaving the five stunned detectives at his wake.

Lilly followed them, "Scotty." She ran after him, "Scotty." She called again. He turned around; Daniel seemed confused, "Where are you going?" She asked.

"I'm taking Daniel home. Lil, we'll be fine. I'll see you at home." He kissed her cheek and went into the elevator.

Lilly saw the doors close and went back into the offices. "What happened?" Nick asked quickly.

"He's getting Daniel home." Lilly said tiredly. She grabbed her coat and purse.

"Lil, I…" Will started.

"I'm going home Will." She said finally.


	20. Chapter 20

I don't own cold case

Thank you for the reviews and please keep reading and reviewing. I know that at least four people like this story. That's nice to know, .

Chapter 20

She left headquarters and went straight home. She wanted to follow Scotty and Daniel but there was no sight of them when she got to the parking lot.

She fed the cats and petted them until she heard the door open. Scotty came in looking defeated. He undid his tie and threw it across the room not caring where it landed. "Daniel is going to London. He's staying with his sister for a while. He needs help; do you know what he said to me? "I'm not that guy. I can't do it anymore detective. I'm going away; just let me know if you find whoever did it. I just can't keep this up."

Scotty sounded angry, "he's given up and maybe he's right. Maybe all of this is for nothing. The bastard who did that Lillian might never be caught…"

Lilly grabbed his hand, "you just need a break from the case. You've been obsessing over it for five months Scotty." He shrugged Lil's hand off and stood up from the bed. "No, what I need to do is solve this fucking case."

He yelled at her and paced in front of her, "God Lilly, I just, I need to end it. I can't stop thinking that it could have been us. It could have been you…"

She stood up too. She had been patient, but this obsession, it was too much, she couldn't take it. "But it wasn't. I'm alive and I'm here. Please Scotty, they're nothing like us. I would never let you think that my job was more important than you. She never properly told him she loved him. I'm not afraid to tell you I love you Scotty." Lilly was tired; she'd been silent for months. She supported his fixation on this case. She stood by him and ignored his lack of attention. She put up with his moods, the fact that he practically lived in PPD. She was there for him, but enough was enough.

"I feel like I'm losing you Scotty. Like I'm not enough, I'm losing the man I love to a ghost. We live and work together but you're not with me. It hurts." She finally said.

Scotty paled, all the anger and frustration left his body. He embraced her. "No Lilly, I…" He held her close and kissed her hair. I love you so much _Cielo_. I don't ever want to hurt you. I'm so sorry." He held her and let her cradle him too. They didn't realize that it was the first time they openly declared their love for each other. It had been unspoken until that moment.

She looked up to him and hugged him tighter. "Then take a break Scotty. Let someone else take over the case, maybe this needs fresh eyes. You are too involved, I hate to say it but you obsessing over Lillian Shepherd won't help anyone." She whispered close to his ear and ran her fingers through his hair and neck. She was prepared for an argument of epic proportions.

Scotty looked at her; his eyes opened comically, "Obsession. Lillian Shepherd was an admired cardiothoracic surgeon. She had five interns under her; three were on call that night leaving Natalia Rookwood and Brian Lee." He smiled and went to their study. "When I talked to Rookwood she seemed nervous. She said she'd been with Lee all night at his house. She said they were having sex." Scotty checked into the hospital log copies. Lilly couldn't believe him. "Scotty, you have to stop." She pleaded.

"I knew it, they were at the hospital. They punched in their codes to get into a section of the hospital." He grabbed his badge from the coffee table. Lilly couldn't let him go. "Scotty wait. I'll go with you." She wasn't about to let him out of her sight.

In less than five minutes they were in the car. "Where are we going Scotty?"

"To the hospital, both of them still work as residents. Rookwood is in general surgery and Lee is a trauma resident."

They entered the emergency room and found Natalia. "Ms. Rookwood, remember me?" Scotty asked politely.

The young woman nodded, she looked very nervous, "of course, detective Valens was it?"

"We need to take you to Philadelphia police headquarters." Lilly said just as politely. She nodded. "Of course."

"Do you know where Dr. Lee is?" Scotty asked, while scanning the emergency room.

He found him, they made eye contact; the tall blond man tried to make a run for it but Scotty managed to stop him before he ran out of the room.

"You are under arrest…" Scotty started and handcuffed him. They drove to headquarters. Lee remained quiet, Rookwood cried all the way to the building.

Scotty felt closer to finding out who had murdered Lillian Shepherd. He had no evidence against them but there was something here. He knew it. Lilly didn't look too convinced.

They made it up to their floor; Will and Boss were there. They put them in separate rooms. They went into Stillman's office. "What is the meaning of this?" Boss asked.

Lil looked at him and Will, her whole demeanor screamed "it's your fault, deal with it." Her partner however didn't notice the tension. "After I left Daniel home I realized that I was obsessing over the case. Then I remembered reading that these two were sexually involved and had an alibi that night but it wasn't airtight. Lillian Shepherd was the best heart surgeon in Philadelphia, one of the youngest Attendings. Everyone admired her. These two were her interns at that time." Scotty explained

"And what does this have to do with the case?" Stillman asked a little bewildered by his detectives' actions.

"Just let Lil and me interview them." Scotty pleaded. Stillman reluctantly agreed, "I'll be present in both interrogations and Jeffries stays in the observation room."

Scotty went to interview Natalia first. "Dr. Rookwood, we have knowledge that you were the last person to see Dr. Shepherd alive. When I talked to you three months ago you claimed to be at Lee's apartment but the hospital logs show that you were both at the hospital. We know Dr. Shepherd went back to hospital to sign off some patients she had. You talked to her didn't you."

The young woman was crying softly. "I didn't do it, it was Brian." She cried hysterically and hyperventilated after that confession.

Scotty remained passive. "I want you to explain what happened."

"Dr. Shepherd was very strict but she was great. We all would have killed to be able to scrub in with her. She was a goddess, she saw me crying that night. I was having problems with Brian. He was obsessed with her." She said between tears.

"She was smiling and told me to take especial care of Tommy Wallace. She operated on him the day before." The young woman cried every now and then.

"What happened next?" Scotty sat in front of her and offered her a handkerchief.

"Thank you." Her eyes were glazed over, as if she was remembering something. "I told her that I would but it didn't matter because she was going to perform the other minor surgeries in a couple of days. She said she wasn't. I asked her why and she said she was going to Africa with Dr. Wright."

"She squeezed my hand and told me I had potential. I smiled at her and she went to her office. I was so stupid, I told Brian, and I just wanted to shut him up. He was rambling about how great she was. I told him about Dr. Shepherd's plans." She cried some more

Scotty encouraged her to continue, "He went crazy, and he started knocking the surgical supplies around. I was scared. He asked him where she was and I told him."

"I followed him to her office. He, he slapped her across the face. He pulled out a knife. And threatened to cut her if she screamed." Scotty interjected, "and you just watched while he raped her." His voice furious, "Yes, he didn't know I was there. I left after they got into his car." Rookwood was hysterical at that point.

"You didn't tell anyone, or call for help." He stated.

The woman nodded, "Answer yes or no." He hissed.

"No, I didn't. The next day when the chief of surgery told us she resigned. I thought she wanted to keep it quiet. I broke things off with Brian and tried to forget and then you told us that Shepherd was dead and I knew he did it. He killed her with that knife he has."

Scotty left the room. He met with Lilly, Stillman and Will. "He did it, he's our doer." Scotty said to Stillman.

Scotty looked eagerly at his partner. "Lil, did he say anything?" Will shook his head.

"He's been asking for a lawyer." Lil said.

Scotty went into the room where Lee was. "We know you murdered Dr. Shepherd. Dr. Rookwood saw you raping your attending. She followed you to the badlands and saw how you stabbed her to death."

The Doctor didn't move or say anything, "still not talking huh. What if I told you that I have a warrant for that knife you carry around? You know that as soon as we get that knife, the markings will match those of Lillian Shepherd's wounds." Scotty crowded him.

"Why the rape though? Weren't you man enough to have her willingly?" Scotty hissed.

"That bitch loved every single second of it." Lee grinned lasciviously. Scotty saw red. He punched him hard.

Lilly came into the room before he could do more damage, "Now you I can actually talk to." He said blowing Lilly a kiss.

Scotty wanted to punch the life out of him but refrained from doing so. He knew that Boss would pull him out. He wanted to find out what happened to Lil. "I'll need your knife." The slime bag handed the weapon. Lilly put it in a plastic bag. "We'll also find Lillian's blood here, wont we?" She said smiling at him.

The man didn't say or do anything, "Now, we can do this the easy or the hard way. You're screwed either way." Lilly sat in front of him. "I have all the time in the world Brian."

Scotty stood up in a corner waiting for something to happen. It was Lilly; she did it as only Lilly Rush can do it. She stared at Lee for half an hour and then suddenly turned to Scotty "Scotty. Let's just go home. We know he did it; we have his knife, a witness and DNA linking him to Shepherd's murder. We're just wasting our time here with him." Lilly looked Scotty and smiled.

"You right Lil." Scotty helped her up and was surprised when she kissed the corner of his mouth. This had to be a strategy to get Lee to talk. He didn't know where she was going but he played along.

"You're going out with him?" Lee asked.

Lilly smiled, "yeah, it's a little complicated because we work together but we're happy." She kissed him on the mouth this time. Scotty responded immediately, it was a practiced kiss, simple. She pecked him again and cleaned the lipstick off his lips. She smiled at him. "Come on Lil." He answered and led her to the door.

"It never works out detective." Lee called out before they left the room. Lilly turned around. "Why wouldn't it work out?"

Scotty turned back too, "Shepherd and Wright were involved. They were in love Lil, they were going to Africa together." Scotty smiled.

"That's so romantic Scotty." Lilly smiled beautifully at him, he smiled back.

"It's wasn't romantic, it was stupid. She was a surgeon, she was gifted; she was supposed to teach us. All she cared about was Dr. Wright. She deserve it, I would do it again." Lee finally exploded. Lee hit the table and growled frustrated.

Scotty looked at him coldly, "Why did you rape her?"

Lee smiled and huffed, "I was in control, and she was just a woman. Not the brilliant surgeon, my superior. She was just a woman; I knew she would tell so I had to kill her. I stabbed her, I was out of control." He confessed quickly. "She did all the wrong things, she begged for life, pleaded for Wright, and even told me she was pregnant." Scotty moved toward the door. He couldn't be in there anymore. He went into the observation room. "Was she pregnant?" Scotty asked Will immediately.

"No, she must have said it to make him stop." Will said sadly.

"We got him," the younger detective said to his Boss. "We do." Stillman looked at the interrogation room. "I'm going to call the holding cells." Will left the room and clapped Scotty on the back. "Good job."

Scotty smiled sadly. "I'm going to call Daniel, tell him we caught this bastard."

He was close to the door when boss called him out, "Scotty wait, I have to know. Is there anything going on between Lilly and you?" Stillman didn't like the familiarity with which his detectives kissed.

Scotty turned around, "No." Scotty said looking straight into Boss's eyes. He hated to lie but he wasn't about to risk his or Lil's career. They would have to deal with the fallout. He was sure as hell not leaving his _Cielo_.

"Boss I have to go. I want to tell Daniel in person." The detective rushed out of the observation room.


	21. Chapter 21

I don't own Cold Case.

Tari Lovegood, princesshikari99, imsoproudofyou and ccngem thank you for your thoughts and feedback. I'm glad you like and keep reading the story. Thank you all for reading. More reviews equal faster updates, keep that in mind ;) ;) .

**There is mature content ahead. **

Chapter 21

He drove like a maniac; he forgot that Lilly had no ride back home. He almost went back but decided that telling Daniel took priority tonight. He knocked on the door and a weary Daniel opened the door.

"I got them Dan." He said with a smile on his face.

Daniel cried and hugged him. "It's going to be fine." Scotty made his way into the apartment. He sat on the couch and watched as Daniel went into the kitchen and made tea for them.

"Tell me who did it." The doctor looked better now. He drank from his cup. "It was one of her interns. Brian Lee, he raped her and then killed her. Natalia Rookwood, she saw what happened. She'll be charged too."

The detective told him most of what the residents told him. He omitted the worst parts. Daniel looked deeply confused, "but Lee, it can't be. He trailed after Lil like a puppy."

"He was jealous, he's a very perturbed individual." Scotty stopped him from his musings.

"I just I can't be here anymore. This city, everything reminds me of her. I'm staying with my sister. The drinking problem, it's getting worse. I need support." He seemed to be talking to himself rather than to Scotty.

"I have to go Daniel. I hope everything works out for you." Scotty clapped him on the back.

"Thank you detective. I'm sorry for losing my cool earlier. Thank you again."

"Are you sure you don't want to stay for the trial?" Scotty asked. Daniel shook his head. "No, at first I just wanted them to pay for what they did to Lil. I wanted revenge. I was sure it would fill this void I have but then you said that Lil wouldn't have wanted me to be like this. She used to say I was the best man she ever knew. I can't let her go detective but living like this, in this apartment is breaking me."

"I understand Daniel." Scotty took out one of his business cards. "Keep in touch, don't be a stranger." The man smiled and closed the door after the detective left.

Scotty drove back to the precinct. He went in and took Lillian Shepherd's box back to storage. He wrote, "CLOSED" and placed the box in the shelves. He went back to the office, checked on the final reports for the D.A. and left for home.

He felt so relieved, he was on autopilot, he just wanted to crash on the bed and have Lilly by his side. He parked the car in front of their house. He closed the car door and thought he saw Lillian Shepherd waving away. It had happened to him before with Brent's parents, Ana Castilla, Greg Vizcaino. Scotty smiled sadly and went inside the house.

He smelled food cooking. He was the one who usually cooked when they were tired of take out. He went into the kitchen and found her stirring tomato sauce. Scotty embraced her, kissed her neck. "What you making?" He nuzzled her neck and lowered her hoodie zipper. He didn't realize how hungry he was until the moment he smelled food.

She turned and kissed his lips briefly. "The only thing I can make without setting the house on fire, spaghetti and meat balls." He squeezed her and dropped a few more quick kisses on her check, neck and shoulder. "I'm taking a shower _Cielo_, want to join me?" he whispered close to her ear and toyed with the sweatpants' drawstrings.

She shivered, "No, I'll finish dinner. I know you're hungry Scotty." She gave him one last peck before he left for the shower.

He felt the water sooth him and rinse away the weariness he felt ever since they investigated Lillian Shepherd's case. He dried off and put on some sweatpants. When he got to the dining room Lil had already set his plate. He smiled; they ate in relative silence until Lilly couldn't hold it anymore. He knew her. She was practically combusting. "He's still going to London, being here is not healthy for him. I gave him my number, I told him to keep in touch."

Lilly nodded, "Didn't he want to stay for the trial?" Lilly scooped some spaghetti. Scotty shook his head and finished his last bite. "No, he said that he needed help. He's been drinking a lot and he plans to stop before he screws his life."

He stood up and motioned to wash up the dishes. It was Lilly who stood up and kissed his bare back, "let's go to bed. I miss you." She rested her head against his back. Her hands drew patterns on his chest. He couldn't remember the last time they were together. He turned around and kissed her sweetly. He enjoyed the feel of her lips against his. He rested his forehead against hers. "Thank you _mi Cielo_, for being here. For putting up with me, for loving me." He kissed her again, and again. He couldn't get enough of her. She responded with the same or more fervor. "I thought you would never come back to me Scotty." She couldn't get enough of him either. She touched his chest, abs, whatever she could.

He pulled up her dark blue shirt, she wore nothing underneath; Scotty felt idiotic. He couldn't remember the last time he saw her topless. "I'm so sorry _Cielo_, _mi amor_," He kissed her heatedly. "I'll never do this to us again. I promise." He caressed her cheeks, and kissed her repeatedly.

They went up to their bedroom. The cats scampered away from the bed. They didn't care. He ran his hands over her clothed hips and thighs. "Lift _Cielo_," he said huskily. She raised her hips. He removed their pants. He was about to get her ready when Lilly interrupted him, "that won't be necessary." She opened her legs a little. That little gesture drove Scotty wild with desire. He touched her folds. She was soaking wet. "Lil, where are the condoms?" He teased one of her nipples. "Where they always are." She answered raising her hips; she was trying to have some contact with him. Scotty moved quickly to the side drawer. He reached for one of them. His hand connected with emptiness. "Lil, please tell me we have more condoms somewhere else." He moaned when she rubbed him.

She shook her head. "We don't." She kissed him some more and flipped them until she was on top of him. "Let's risk it." She said while grabbing his cock, she stroked him from base to tip. Scotty kissed her passionately; he was too distracted by her hands to think things through. He nodded; she moved and teased herself with his erection. "Lil, I want you bad." She moaned breathlessly when she impaled herself on him.

"That's so good." He moaned back. She moved up and down on his cock. It felt incredible to be inside of Lilly again. It was pure bliss to have this woman love him so unconditionally. She moved faster and faster. He loved every single second of the encounter. Lil couldn't help but let out a string of sighs, moans and other equally satisfied sounds when she reached her peak.

Scotty looked at her flushed face, he rolled them over, she whined. "Lil, I love you." he whispered softly to her ear and rammed into her. She sought his lips, she looked into his eyes, "I love you too Scotty." She kissed him, whatever she could reach. He moaned and let his orgasm overwhelm him. Lilly crossed her legs and arms around his body.

She massaged his shoulders and back. He kissed her neck and minded the fact that she breathed shallowly. He slipped out of her and lie next to her. "You could never lose me _Cielo_." He said truthfully. She turned to face him, "you don't know that Scotty. Maybe in a few years, you'll get tired of me or you could get hurt." Scotty frowned. He pulled her to his chest, "you're right, I can get hurt but I would never be tired of you." She didn't look too convinced. Scotty kissed her forehead. "Even when I'm mad and I obsess over cases I'll still be here Lil. I could never step away from you because when I don't see your face at least for five minutes every day it hurts. You've ruined me Lilly."

She smiled so openly at him, and then kissed him. "You mean it?" she asked still sporting the biggest grin he'd ever seen from her.

"I do." He smiled back and kissed her lips playfully.

She caressed his hair, "Boss asked me about us." She looked nervous.

"He asked me about us too. I told him there was nothing going on." Scotty knew that the moment PPD knew about their relationship they would either be fired or transferred. He loved his job and he was sure Lilly wouldn't want to get another partner.

"I said the same thing Scotty." She smiled at him. "I don't want you to think that what we have is not important Scotty." He kissed her some more. "I know you love me Rush. What's not to love?" he said cockily. She smirked and moved over his body.


	22. Chapter 22

Disclaimer: I don't own Cold Case.

Here's a new update. Enjoy, as always don't forget to review .

Chapter 22

They spent the night getting reacquainted with each other. Lilly was glad that she had him back. They were both very good detectives, she was obsessive herself but this time Scotty took it to unprecedented heights. She was glad things were getting back to normal.

He made breakfast for them; he pampered her, just like when they first started sleeping together. He woke her up by kissing her shoulders and hair. "Wake up beautiful." He nuzzled her until she drowsily opened her eyes. He kissed her lips and carried her to the shower. They showered together. Lilly laughed the whole time. She had him back.

They ate in record time. Lilly drove her car; they had agreed that they would take their own cars. They didn't want to give Boss anything more to suspect. He gave her one last kiss and she left for work. Lilly tried to rein her happiness. She didn't want to have the silly grin. She tried to keep a normal face when she entered headquarters. She went to the break room, and got herself a cup of coffee. Nick congratulated her on closing the case. "It was actually Scotty." Lilly remarked with a small smile.

"I haven't seen him yet. That's weird, you guys usually come together; he didn't pick you up today?" Nick went for the donuts.

"He's not picking me up anymore, my car is working now." Lilly said distractedly, Nick nodded and went back to his desk.

Scotty entered the precinct half an hour later. Kat and Nick congratulated him; he couldn't keep the smile off his face however. He grinned at her, "good morning Rush." He gave her a big smile.

She frowned at him. "Lose the cheery attitude Valens. Everyone is going to notice you got laid." She said quickly.

Scotty actually laughed, but she wasn't wrong. He smiled and was so damn happy that Nick had to come out and say. "You got some yesterday didn't you. That's why you didn't pick Rush today. That's why you were late today and why you have that shit eating smile." Nick said half joking half accusingly.

Scotty smirked, "I don't know what you're talking about Vera." Kat and Lilly laughed, Lilly was actually a little uncomfortable.

"You have to tell, is it serious?" Kat teased him.

"I'm a gentleman Miller. I don't kiss and tell." He winked at them. Kat and Lil laughed at him.

"He did get some last night." Kat said while stirring her coffee. Lilly remained quiet, "look at him, he looks happy, a total transformation from yesterday." Kat said aloud.

"He does, let's hope she's not a nut job. He does prefer them that way." Lilly remarked. Kat shook her head and left the break room. Lilly breathed a sigh of relief. She would have to talk to Scotty when they got home. She couldn't help her smile when she saw him playing with his pen by his desk.

They worked on their caseload; Vera got a confession out of one of the suspects in their latest case. Scotty volunteered to go down to storage. Lilly went with him, she carried the lighter box, it was all business until Lilly handed him the last box. She tried to walk past him but Scotty backed her to one of the shelves. "Not here." She tried to keep his hands away from her ass. "I want you Lil." He kissed her and rubbed against her. She welcomed the few kisses and the touches. She ruffled his hair. "I want you too but we have to wait." She bit her lips when he massaged one of her breasts.

"No we don't." he insisted rubbing against her thigh.

Lilly needed an excuse to not give into him. "We don't have any protection, someone could see us and you'll mess up my hair." She stepped away from him. He groaned.

"I'll wait for you at the car. We're taking an early lunch" She winked and skipped out of storage.

Scotty took a few moments to regain his composure and then went up to his desk. He saw Kat give him the evil eye. "What?" he asked.

"Where's Lil? I've been waiting for her, we're going to Geno's" Scotty frowned.

"She left headquarters ten minutes ago. She said something about early lunch or something."

Kat glared at him, "I can't believe that woman." She huffed and left the room.

Scotty looked around, to make sure no one was there to ask him to lunch or something. He left the building and raced to his car. Lil was already sitting on the passenger's seat.

Scotty drove them to a pharmacy, "Why did you drive us to a CVS?" She asked bewildered.

"Condoms, we need them." He left the car, Lilly laughed when he ran to the drug store.

He came back with two boxes. "Better safe than sorry." He said. They laughed and Scotty drove them to a restaurant. They ate amicably and then went back to work. Their day was as always eventful but nothing too shocking or disturbing fortunately.

They went back home and put those condoms to use. Lilly was a very satisfied woman when Scotty fell on her chest. "We're having sex every single day from now on. This type of workout is good for us," he stated while resting on her chest.

"I don't think so Valens. I've used muscles I haven't used in years. I think I'm calling in sick, I'm not moving from this bed." She said sleepily.

"I like that idea. I'll call in sick too." he joked and kissed the bullet scar she had.

They slept until Rosa called Lilly's cellphone at 5:23 AM. "Hey Ma." She's sleeping right now. Why are you calling this late?" Scotty whined while spooning Lilly.

"Yeah, ok Ma. We'll go later after work." He ended the conversation.

Lil stirred and kissed his chin, "Who called?" Scotty rubbed her back. "Allie had the baby," he said drowsily.

Lilly smiled, "boy or girl?" she asked.

"Boy, eight pounds." He then snored. Lilly pecked him and yielded to sleep too.

As promised they were at the hospital late in the afternoon the next day. "He's so handsome. " Lilly peeked at the little boy who was nursing. She congratulated Allie. Scotty and Mike were with the other children. The nurse insisted that there couldn't be that many people in the room.

"He is, he looks just like Em when he was born." Allie cooed at her infant son.

"What's his name?" Lilly asked mesmerized by the little boy.

"Ramiro, he's our last. We decided to name him after his grandpa." The baby finished his meal and briefly opened his eyes before he dozed off.

"He's so tiny." Lilly thought that little by was such a miracle.

Allie noticed the awe in her voice. "Do you want to hold him Lil?"

Lilly looked at her, "really" she said excitedly and then she frowned. "I don't think that's a good idea. I could drop him Allie." Lilly said seriously. "Nonsense, but if you're worried you can sit here next to me."

Lilly sat in a chair. Allie gingerly scooted to the edge and handed her the baby. Lilly was tense at first but then the baby opened his eyes. He looked to be wide-awake. "He has such big eyes." Lilly said openly. Allie laughed, "Yes, he has his daddy's eyes."

"He looks a lot like Scotty too." Lilly smiled when the baby grabbed her finger and squeezed.

"Strong grip." She smiled at the baby.

"Hey there little guy."

Scotty came to the room a few minutes later. Allie talked to her about having the baby. "I had a C-section, the baby was not well positioned." Lilly heard attentively but never took her eyes away from the latest Valens.

"There's my nephew." Scotty whispered and expertly carried Ramiro. Lilly frowned, "hey, I had him first." Lilly looked up to see Scotty cradling the baby boy. He never looked better in her eyes.

"_Hola_ Ramiro" Scotty walked around the room with the baby on his arms. Allie looked at her, "he's welcoming him. He did the same thing with Emilio and Alejandra when they were born. That's his thing." Lilly heard him whisper things in Spanish to the baby.

"He's wonderful." Lilly said to Allie.

Allie laughed, "you got it bad for him huh." Lilly smiled and nodded. Allie never judged, she was a true friend and she felt extremely comfortable around her. She had been there to talk to when Scotty was absorbed in the Shepherd case.

The couple stayed until Mike came back from leaving the children at Rosa's house. When they got home, she undressed him and had her way with him. "You're a very sexy man Scotty Valens." He didn't know what brought this on Lilly but he liked it. Things went back to normal. Scotty was true to his promise; he didn't get too involved with the cases. They actually cut back a few hours from work. Lilly worked until 5:30 while Scotty left at 5:00. They were more discreet now. No more glances or stolen touches. They didn't want Stillman to know.


	23. Chapter 23

Here you go another chapter. I want to thank those of you who read and review this story. Your feedback keeps me going.

Chapter 23

It was a Saturday afternoon; they were going to Mike's house. Lilly wore a nice blue summer dress with a light jacket while Scotty chose jeans and a t-shirt. "You're looking hot Rush," He kissed the side of her neck. She mumbled something and continued drying her hair.

Mike was cooking something while Emilio and Alejandra played with some toys on the carpet. Allie was rocking a softly crying Ramiro. The baby was two months old. Lilly loved him, he liked Em and Ale but if she had to be truthful Ramiro was her favorite. Earlier that week Chris called to let her know that she'd given birth to another baby girl. Bruce and her named the baby after Bruce's late mother. Her newest niece's name was Blythe. Lilly hadn't had the opportunity to meet her yet but by the pictures it seemed the Rush genes were really strong. The baby looked a lot like Becky.

She went straight for the baby, Allie needed help; she looked tired. "Thank you Lil." She handed her the baby. Ramiro looked at her with his big brown eyes. "Hey baby." she cooed and kissed his forehead. Scotty made himself comfortable with Emilio and Ale.

"Hey guys what you doing?" Ale started chattering away about her day at pre-k and some lunch she had switched with other kid. Emilio played quietly with some helicopters. Lilly sat next on the couch. "Thank you for this. Mike and me really need to spend some time without the kids." Allie kissed her cheek and went into her bedroom.

Mike put the apron away. He was already dressed. "I made lunch for you guys. I got mom on speed dial and there's a list of foods and TV shows the kids aren't allowed to eat or watch." Mike explained.

Allie came back after five minutes, she was dressed and looked happy. "Ramiro's bottles are on the fridge, just heat them up. Again guys thank you so much."

"No problem Allie, just have fun." Lilly said happily rocking Ramiro on her arms.

Mike kissed her goodbye. "Don't worry we'll be back by nine or ten." They left the house and their three children.

Emilio and Ale were very comfortable with Scotty and her. They behaved and had a nice evening with them. Emilio drew most of the afternoon while Alejandra didn't let Scotty out of her sight. That little girl could talk.

Lilly was besotted with the baby. She bathed him and cuddled with him. Scotty found her on the bed looking at Ramiro. "Hey, I got Em and Ale to sleep." He climbed on the other side of Ramiro. "He's so small Scotty." Lilly lifted on of his feet and kissed it.

Scotty smiled at her, "He's cute, isn't he. Just like his uncle Scotty." He kissed Lil's forehead. She smiled at him. She kissed the sleeping baby's cheek. Scotty got a call. He stood up and left the room. Lilly heard her phone vibrating. She ignored it; it was better to not answer. Scotty came into the room, "new case, we have a fresh murder, same M.O. as three cold ones." He looked for his shoes. "Allie and Mike should be home anytime now."

"Boss called me too, I let it go to voicemail." Ramiro started crying. Lilly picked him up; the little boy nuzzled her chest. "I think he's hungry."

She heated a bottle and fed the baby while walking around the kitchen. They heard his phone go off again. "Yes boss, no I'm babysitting for my brother and his wife. I don't know where Lil is. Did you try her cellphone?"

Scotty watched as Lilly sang to the baby, Ramiro opened and closed his eyes softly. "I understand Boss but I can't leave my two month old nephew."

Lilly heard him hang up. "You should go, he won't stop calling until one of us is there. I'm sure Vera, Jeffries and Miller are already at headquarters." She kissed his lips. "I'll call boss when Mike and Allie get here, I'll take a cab down to the station." She kissed him briefly before he left. He didn't have any doubts when he left her in charge of three small children. Surprisingly Lilly didn't feel the overwhelming anxiety she thought she would feel. She knew these kids. They actually liked her a lot. She placed Ramiro on his crib and went up to check on Emilio and Alejandra.

She was about to close Alejandra's door when the little girl called her, "aunty Lil, where's _mami_?" she asked sleepily.

"She's still on her date with daddy. Do you need anything sweetheart?" she asked from the door. Alejandra sat up on her bed and motioned for Lilly to come close to her. "Stay with me until mommy comes back." Ale pulled her hand. Lilly sat next to the little girl and waited until she rolled over and slept peacefully.

All the children were sleeping, Lilly went back to check on Ramiro. She stayed there until she heard the door open. Mike and Allie apologized profusely for being so late. "We were just caught up in this traffic and it was Mike's idea to leave the cellphones behind." Allie said while looking at the baby.

Mike came into the room, "no temptation to come back and check on the kids. Where's my brother?" he asked after she gave her a kiss.

"He's at the precinct and I should go too." She came close to Ramiro and kissed his forehead. Lilly stood up and grabbed her jacket from the coat rack in the living room. Mike and Allie went to the living room, "Lilly, let me drive you home." Mike said grabbing the keys from the coffee table.

"I have to go to the precinct." Lilly said while putting on her jacket.

"Don't worry Lil. He'll drive you there." Allie thanked her one more time before they left the house. "I'll see you tomorrow." Lilly said and kissed Allie goodnight.

"So that's how it works, you guys get a call at random times and are expected to go to work just like that." Mike said as they drove to the station.

Lilly laughed, "it's not like that Mike, we rarely get those calls any way. Scotty and I work cold cases mostly." Lilly put on some make up. She would say that she was on a blind date.

She was running to the elevator in no time. The whole team was by Scotty's desk. "Nice of you to join us Rush." Scotty said without looking up from the paperwork. Lilly didn't pay attention to him; he was getting better at this. "Rush, where have you been? I've been calling you all night." Boss said as he joined his detectives.

"Hot date." She said musingly. Kat and Jeffries frowned at her. "About time." Nick commented.

"Enough about your personal lives. We have five cases to solve people. No one is going home until we get a break." Stilllman said as he pinned new information on the board. Lilly looked at the board. Four dead men, mid forties, middle class. No link other than that they were regular Joes.

They got a break at 3:00 AM. Another victim, he was in the hospital in critical condition Jeffries and Vera went to the hospital to get an update. It was Kat who found the link. "These men are pedophiles."

"That can't be, they are not registered sex offenders." Stillman replied.

"Charges were dropped, in every single one of them. The victims were either too traumatized to give statements or their lawyers got them off the hook." Kat showed them the reports.

"Valens and Rush track the victims." Stillman went back into his office.

Scotty found three; they were living out of Philly. "That was easy."

One of the victims was dead; it only left them with the first victim. "Karen Fisher. She was 13 years old when her stepfather, Peter Katz, sexually assaulted her."

Stillman came back from the office, "the bullet from Katz's body came from a .38. Ballistics matched the bullets to the same gun."

"Was the gun registered?" Scotty asked willing Boss to say yes. He wanted to solve this case so he could go to sleep. It was 8:00 AM. "No, it wasn't."

Thirty minutes later they received a call from Jeffries, "He said he was attacked by a woman. Tall, slim, and brunette, that was all we could get from him."

"I'll tell boss." Scotty hung up. Stillman came back from his office. "We have a hostage situation. Karen Fisher went into Arnold Blake's apartment fifteen minutes ago. Neighbor heard gunshots. We have our doer, let's go people."

They drove to the house. It was a blood bath scene. Karen Fisher committed suicide after killing Arnold and Brenda Blake. "Kat is with a witness. A young girl, Amanda Blake 15 years old; Scotty and Lilly made their way to Amanda. They heard her testimony. "She came in and locked me in my room. She said, "he won't hurt you anymore." The girl's eyes were glazed over, she was clearly in shock, the girl looked at Lilly, "He hurt me, he did things to me. My mom didn't do anything and then I got pregnant and went to the clinic." She paused and stuttered a little. "They asked and I had to tell. I'm not sad they're gone. Am I a bad person?" she looked at Kat.

"Of course you're not honey." She patted Amanda's hand.

Kat looked at them. Scotty tried to help her up but the girl recoiled. Lilly and Kat helped her up. Scotty shook his head, this girl was afraid of men. It became clear when the ambulance came and one of the paramedics tried to check her up. The girl became hysterical. Kat held her close and helped her to the ambulance. "I'll stay with you ok honey?" He heard Milller say.

Stillman talked to the crime scene inspectors and then talked to them. "Vera and Jeffries said our sixth victim died half an hour ago. They are interviewing a witness who saw Karen Fisher shot him. I want you back at the precinct to finish the paperwork. I'll contact social services." He went into the ambulance with Kat and Amanda Katz.

Scotty led Lilly to the car. "I'm dead tired." She yawned and rested her head on the window. He kissed her hand, "Did the kids behave after I left?" Lilly nodded.

"Ale had a moment and Ramiro fussed but I was able to handle them." She dozed off after that.

He woke her up when they were at headquarters. "_Cielo_, Lil wake up." He shook her softly. Lilly opened her eyes and leaned into him. "We're not going to your mother's I need to sleep."


	24. Chapter 24

This chapter is dedicated to those who reviewed which are only two people lol (Tari Lovegood and princesshikari99). This one is also for ccngem who encourages me through her private messages. Thank you for your input and suggestions. I'll keep them in mind ;) Please keep reading and reviewing

Chapter 24

They crashed home. He kissed Lil and slept until 3:33 AM. He was thirsty and wanted a glass of water. He went downstairs to the kitchen. He gulped water down and went back to the bedroom. Scotty spooned Lilly who rolled over and kissed him on the mouth. She straddled him and pulled her old t-shirt over her head. She was so hot. He had to keep his hands to himself most of the time. He kissed her feverishly. He loved these midnight sessions. She would wake up and have her way with him. "I had a dream just now." She fondled him. He looked down to her, "yeah, what about?" he moaned when she bit his nipple. She looked up, "you, me in the interrogation room." She ground her hips over his. "Don't tell me." He growled and stilled her hips. He knew that if she started talking about her dream. He would visualize it and the interrogation room would never be the same. He avoided going to the storage room after his little Lilly detour.

She didn't pay attention, and pulled his hands to her core. "You were asking me questions and I wasn't answering." She moaned and rode his fingers. Scotty pleaded with her to be quiet. "You pushed me to the table and undid your belt buckle. You looked at me just like you're looking at me right now." Scotty kissed her roughly; he reached for the condoms but couldn't find the box. "You grabbed my blouse and ripped it open." He fondled her breasts and moaned. He no longer fought the images that came unbidden. Lilly had very vivid dreams. "You got rid of my pants and I wasn't wearing panties." He bit her earlobe and teased her clit. "You shoved my hand down your pants and made me touch you." Lilly smiled and kissed his lips. "I liked it." She smiled wickedly.

He lowered her to his erection. She moved slowly over him. "What else did I do Lil?" he caressed her back and hair. She moaned hugged him to her. They were sitting against the headboard. "I pulled your pants down and then you fucked me hard against the table." She picked up the pace a little. Scotty pinned her under him. He bit her neck and thrust deep into her. "Harder than this Lil?" He pushed into her. Lilly ran her fingers over his hair and pulled a little. He could feel her hot breath close to his cheek and ear. "Just like that Scotty." She mewled and trashed under him. He nuzzled her neck and increased his pace until they were both spent on the bed.

She inhaled deeply and kissed him all over his face. Lilly rolled them over so that she was on top again. "I love you Scotty." She smiled sleepily and kissed his smiling mouth one more time. "Love you too _Cielo_." He brought her to his chest and crossed his arms on her back.

Scotty and Kat were in the break room waiting for Vera and Lil to come back from court. They were arguing over the merits of dating coworkers. "I dated Curtis and that didn't go too well. You dated Frankie and that A.D.A." Kat said accusingly.

"You might have point but all I'm saying is that it be easier to date someone who knows your work. Don't tell me that dating Bell was harder than dating this Michael guy."

Kat laughed, "but I like Michael better." Scotty nodded. "And I don't know why you're advocating for office romances. You have no chance with me and Lil… let's face it you lost your chance with her."

Scotty tried to keep the smirk off his face. He thought that his coworkers would be the first to notice his and Lil's relationship. He was curious as to why Kat thought that he didn't have any chances with Lilly Rush. He frowned and asked, "Why do you mean I lost my chances with Lil?"

Kat smiled, "You've been in the friend zone for years Valens. If you wanted to make a move you should have done it years ago. It's too late now. Lilly sees you as her little brother. Girls like their little brother, they take care of them but they don't sleep with their little brother."

Scotty laughed, "that's an interesting theory so am I your little brother Miller?" he changed the subject to her.

"Nah, I don't like you enough to consider you family."

"You love me and you know it." He said confidently. Kat shook her head. Will came into the break room. "Here you go." He handed an envelope to the two detectives. "Physical assessment schedule." "Didn't we do this a couple of months ago?" Scotty asked.

"Try a year ago." Will said. "This year we're supposed to do training class."

Scotty read the paper. "Why are we training with narcotics?"

"We are not training with them. It will only be one course or something like that." Kat said distractedly.

The squad started training the next week. Lilly was grouchy, she hated seminar, training classes. "I don't see why they have to get homicide detectives to these so called classes." She made imaginary quotations marks as she spat toothpaste on the bathroom sink. He shrugged; he was on the bed petting Olivia. "It is what it is _Cielo_. The big guys have to cover their assess." Olivia purred when Scotty rubbed behind her ears. He heard Lilly rant for another seven minutes before she lie down next to him.

He kissed her shoulder and bunched her oversized shirt. "Someday these seduction tactics won't work." She turned around and kissed him.

"It's working now. If it ain't broke why fix it?" He tickled her and pulled her. He playfully and quickly removed the shirt. "We should sleep. I don't want to fall asleep during a lecture about proper interrogation techniques and coercion." She kissed his chest. "We should." However she lowered his boxers and reached for the condoms.

Lilly drew the line at 2:00 AM. "I'm serious Valens, no more fun time for you. She rested on his chest when he came back from the bathroom. "You shouldn't be on top of me Lil. I can't control myself around you." He smirked, and rolled them over. She grinned, "you aren't getting more tonight Valens." She kissed his forehead. He remained half on top of her and half on his side.

The next day they were both rested. Well Scotty looked rested. Lilly was in a mood. She dreaded the fact that she would have to listen to trainers and retired cops talk about proper protocols, Miranda rights, and interrogation techniques. They made their way to the classrooms. She sulked and pretended to listen to the lectures. "It's only a day Rush." Scotty said smiling winningly at her.

She frowned at him and sat next to Will and away from him and Kat. Scotty and Kat sat with some of their old narcotic friends from West.

Vera came in late. Lilly scowled again, she should have done the same thing. The instructor didn't even pay attention to him. She sighed and had the worst attitude possible.

By four in the afternoon the lectures were over. They had thirty minutes for lunch. The Police Department wanted blood samples. Later all detectives were supposed to meet by the shooting range. The final test was the shooting situation.

The homicide detectives went up to their break room. "That wasn't that bad." Vera said.

"Talk for yourself." Lilly was still in a mood.

She ate some Thai take out they had on the fridge. "Lil that's cold." Will said. She spat it on the garbage can. She glared at Will and left the room.

"What's wrong with Lil. She's crankier than usual." Vera heated some leftovers.

Scotty stood up and left his sandwich on the table. "I'll see what's up with her."

He left the break room and followed Lilly to the elevator, "Lil, wait up." Lilly glared at him and pressed the buttons for the doors to close. Scotty managed to slip inside before the gap closed. "Hey, what's going on?" She didn't answer him.

He touched her shoulders and faced her. "Hey what…" Lilly looked up to him and started bawling her eyes out. He hugged her and pushed the hold button. "_Cielo_, are you ok?" He felt her shake her head. "I ate cold noodles and shrimp." She sobbed on his chest. He laughed a little. Bad idea, Lilly pushed him away. "Come on Lil." He said remorsefully. She pressed the first floor button. He followed her to his car. He sighed at least she wasn't completely ignoring him. She waited for him to open the door, she climbed in and started to cry, this time she cried harder than before. "Lilly." He began. She threw herself at him again. "My back hurts, it's been a horrible day Scotty and you're making fun of me." He hugged her tightly and let her sob all over him. This was so out of character for her. She must be having a real bad day.

"You smell good." She nuzzled his neck. She kissed his earlobe gently, "hold on Lil."

She looked at him with her watery eyes. He dried her tears and moved her hair aside "you ok." She smiled and kissed his lips. "I just wanna hug you now." Lilly didn't do mushy in public. They had to be by themselves at home, there and only there could he see needy, touchy feely Lilly.

Scotty held her while she caressed his hair and breathed deeply. She hiccupped and rubbed his back. He looked around the parking lot. There was no one in sight. He kissed her slowly. "You feel better now?" he asked looking into her blue eyes.

"Yeah, but I don't want to go back there." Lilly sighed.

"Ok, we won't. Let's have hot dogs." He proposed and she nodded gratefully.

Scotty let the matter drop. Lil's little meltdown was soon forgotten. The couple went to their trainings and completed their medical examinations. The cold squad continued with their regular work. Lilly went back to normal the day after the trainings.


	25. Chapter 25

I don't own Cold Case.

Here is the latest chapter. You don't know how much I appreciate your feedback and reviews. I want to thank all of you who are kind enough to leave a review. I cannot stress how much your reviews motivate me. Please read and review, I wasn't going to post this until tomorrow but I turned on the TV after a hard and horrible day and there it was Cold Case, the chapter about the two girls who loved each other in 1920. Best Friends. I think this is the fifth time I see it. Take care and enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 25

Two weeks later she was still moody but they all were. They had a bitch of a case involving a powerful senator and a dead hooker. "I know he did it." Lil said before taking a gulp from her coffee cup. They were all gathered around their impromptu board.

"We know he did it, he looks good for it but his wife insists they were together all night. At a hotel, they got credit card payments, sworn affidavits from the receptionist, and the maid." Kat replied just as testily.

Boss came with envelopes. "I got physical examinations results. You've all been cleared for duty." He gave each of them a copy. Stillman went straight to his office. Nobody paid much attention to the envelopes. Boss already said they were cleared, "I'll check this later." Nick said as he put the paper on his drawer. He made another phone call. He was still trying to reach Madison Reinnes, the receptionist.

Stillman came back from his office, "Lil, can I have a moment please?" Lilly stood up and went with him to the office.

"First I have to say congratulations." He said smiling; Lilly smiled awkwardly, "thanks I guess."

He hugged her, "you'll do great Lil." She laughed; she was cleared for duty big deal. She looked at him and smiled when he smiled at her happily.

"That's all Lil. You're not keeping it a secret are you?" He asked.

"No, of course not." She was puzzled by his attitude now.

She left the room and laughed again. "Ok."

She went back to her desk. Her mind back again on the case, miraculously Vera found their link to the Senator. "Our maid, she's talking now. She's been blackmailing John Shields for three years now. She videotaped him leaving the hotel. She has the video and is willing to testify, her son was killed in prison. Get this, she claims Shields ordered the hit."

Stillman cleared his throat; "Vera and Jeffries arrest the Senator. Kat and Lil you interview the wife again. Get me a confession. Scotty, call A.D.A Bell. We got him."

Lilly loved her job; she smiled and went to get the bastard who brutally killed a mother of two young children. The squad gathered back in the break room for a little celebration. They were making toasts with sodas. "Hear, hear. To Vera's persuasiveness and keen intellect." Scotty smirked. Nick smiled and gave him the finger. Lilly sat next to Scotty, they were side-by-side drinking iced tea and eating Chinese take out.

Boss joined them after he sorted out all the phone calls he had to make. They talked and ate their late dinner. Stillman kept smiling at Lilly; she was a little unnerved by all the attention Boss was giving her.

Kat joked about something when apparently Boss couldn't hold it anymore. "Don't worry Lil, your desk duty won't start until your fourth or fifth month. Lilly frowned and looked at Scotty then to Stillman. "What are you talking about Boss? You said I was cleared" Kat, Vera and Jeffries quieted immediately. They expectantly waited for the conversation to unfold. "You said you weren't keeping it a secret." Stillman frowned and pointed to her belly, "that baby will make an appearance sooner than you think."

Lilly paled, Scotty almost choked. Lilly was still rooted to her spot. "What are you saying?" Scotty finally asked when he could talk again.

"You're pregnant Lil." Stillman blurted. "I got the results with your clearance."

Lilly shook her head and then looked at Scotty, "No, we used protection every single time." She said keeping her eyes on Scotty. He looked into her eyes with surprise as if remembering something. "No we didn't." He replied. Their eyes conveyed the same thoughts, their midnight lovemaking sessions. Scotty or Lilly would seek each other out and love each other. In those hot little moments he forgot everything. He only wanted to be inside of her and the desire wouldn't be satiated until he had her.

Lilly stood up and walked to her desk, Scotty followed her, and the rest of the squad remained shocked in their seats. Will and Kat looked stunned, Nick looked at Boss as if trying to get an explanation out of him. Stillman looked murderous. Kat was the first to react. The detective watched as the couple rooted for something.

It was as if they were in their own little world. "Found it." Scotty opened the envelope. His eyes did a quick search for the words he was looking for. He was so afraid but there was a stronger emotion present. He smiled. He was elated. There in bold black letters, was confirmation; his _Cielo_ was pregnant. He dropped the paper and caressed her cheek. "We're having a baby." He whispered before he kissed her.

His lips pressed against hers, he kissed her softly, waiting for her to respond. He was getting scared but then she kissed him back. He hugged her and kissed her neck. She giggled and kissed him again. He rested his forehead on hers. "I'm going to have your baby." She smiled; he peppered kisses all over her face. He laughed when she ran her hands through his hair. This was the happiest moment of his life. Lilly wasn't freaking out. She looked happier than ever before. Her eyes sparkled, she said, "I'm having your baby." He kissed her slowly, with all the love he had. He didn't care that they were at the precinct and apparently neither did she. Lilly kissed him sweetly. The squad looked on. This came out as a shock to everyone. Will was the first to articulate, "How? When?" He asked no one in particular. Lilly and Scotty smiled at each other. Scotty kissed her again. They were interrupted by Boss's voice. The older man strode to them. The rest of the squad just looked on, still reeling from what they had seen.

"Rush and Valens, my office now." Boss was angry. Scotty had been recipient of his anger before. He knew what he looked like when he was enraged.

Scotty grabbed Lilly's hand and kissed it. She looked scared then; he knew she was thinking about their careers and their future in Central. They sat in front of Stillman. "How long has this been going on?" the older man made a sweeping gesture toward them.

"We've been together since December." Scotty said clearly.

Stillman looked sharply at Lil. "Does anyone else in this precinct know about this?"

Scotty answered for them. "We are in a relationship, we've lived together since after the accident. And no sir, no one else knows about it." The younger detective didn't like Stillman's tone.

"How could you jeopardize your career like this Lilly?" Scotty stiffened, Lil looked up, "We love each other." She said surely.

Scotty intervened, "I'll put my transfer papers. I can go back to West or go to East." Lilly looked at him. She looked so scared.

Stillman went from searching Lilly's face to Scotty's. "You've crossed a line. You are partners. Do you know how many rules you've broken? There are no more homicide positions at East Detectives." Stillman raised his voice.

"Sir, with all due respect. Our relationship hasn't interfered with our work. Lil and I have been together for almost a year and our rates of solved cases remain the same."

Boss shook his head, "She's pregnant Scotty. Please don't try to downplay the fact that you both lied to me. I asked you personally about this." Stillman pointed at finger at him and yelled.

"You denied it." Scotty glared at his boss.

Lilly jumped to his defense. "We knew you would react like this. It was me; I insisted we kept our relationship a secret. I knew we would be separated."

"Of course you're going to be. Lilly you're going to have his baby." Stillman raised his voice.

Scotty and Lilly remained seated while Stillman ranted about partnership and crossing lines. "I expect your transfer papers on my desk by tomorrow Valens."

They never thought that it would come to one of them transferring. It didn't compute, they had prepared for this but it was real and it was happening.

Lilly stood up. Scotty was about to close the door behind him. "Boss, I understand your decision. I just want to say that it's been a pleasure working in this squad." He went after Lilly. Stillman didn't turn to see him go.

His _Cielo_ picked her purse and left her desk and the rest of the squad. "Hey Scotty, what?" Kat asked but Lilly was out of sight by then. "I'll talk to you guys tomorrow." He grabbed his jacket, and ran after Lil.

She sobbed into his chest when the elevator doors closed, "I don't want you to transfer." He wasn't worried. He knew that Boss was fair and that his career wouldn't be affected. He knew that as soon as he put his papers for transfer he would have a spot in narcotics.

"Don't worry Lil. We'll be fine." He shushed her and they went home.


	26. Chapter 26

Thank you all for the reviews. Please keep reading and reviewing. As always I stress that feedback means faster updates. This story has become a monster, it has about fifty chapters and I don't see the end near. Please let me know if you want to read the crossover with Law and Order now. As you will read in this chapter things are going to change for Scotty. So let me know .

Chapter 26

Lilly didn't sleep well that night. She didn't want morning to come. She knew that Boss would have Scotty transferred as soon as Monday came. She sought his warmth and for the first time thought about the baby.

They were going to have a child together. She wouldn't kid herself and deny the fact that the idea of having children never crossed her mind. She wanted to have kids for a long time but all of her relationships failed horribly. She kissed Scotty's shoulder and imagined a little boy or girl like Emilio or Alejandra. He nuzzled her neck and reassured her in his sleep. "_Cielo_, we'll get through this." he mumbled and slept. He hugged her and trapped her with one of his legs.

She didn't understand why he wasn't as worried as she was. She didn't want him to go to narcotics. Rosa told her about the time he was working undercover. She never heard from him and according to her he lost weight and looked scruffy. Lilly didn't want to work with anyone else who wasn't Scotty. She was so used to having him around, to have his support and unconditional love. She closed her eyes and tried to sleep again, it helped when Scotty rubbed her belly and kissed the side of her neck.

She was taking a shower when she felt Scotty's hands around her waist. "Morning gorgeous." He turned her around and kissed her under the spray. She circled her arms around his neck. "I think today's my last day at Central Lil." He said while moving hair out of her face. She looked about to cry again. Scotty hugged her. "We have to make an appointment to see our baby." He said smiling, trying to lift her spirits. It worked; her mind suddenly was occupied with baby thoughts. "I'll call Allie. She has to know a good obstetrician. We have to tell your parents." She looked up to him.

He could see that she was going to worry again. "They will be ecstatic." He said happily and soaped her neck and shoulders. "We can do this right?" She asked him as he smiled. "We can." He replied and kissed her on the mouth.

They showered and made their way to Central. Lilly didn't dry her hair. They were running late. Scotty drove them as fast as he could. "This will only prove Stillman right." Scotty had his tie around his neck. "I don't care anymore. You're still transferring." She said sadly. Scotty stopped just outside of Central PPD. "Lil, come on. We'll have nights, morning, and weekends." He kissed her hand. Lilly nodded but she still couldn't shake the fact that he wasn't going to be her partner.

They entered headquarters. Lilly could feel the tension as soon as they stepped into the break room. Their colleagues were having a cup of coffee before starting the day. Vera was the one to put them at ease. "So you're together now."

"We are." Lilly answered.

"How long?" Kat asked. She was still reeling over the fact that she hadn't noticed anything amiss. She remembered talking to Scotty about his failing chances to get Lilly. How mistaken had she been? She wanted to know how long they had been together.

"A little more than a year." Scotty replied and sat next to Lilly.

"What did John say? How's the IAB going to handle this?" Will asked quickly.

"I'm transferring back to Narcotics." Scotty said.

"But you're homicide now. Try going to East or West." Vera stated.

Scotty shook his head, even before yesterday. He had looked into different outcomes if Boss discovered them. "East doesn't have anything open and West only has narcotics openings."

Vera and Will shook their heads, "Are you really pregnant Rush?" Kat asked Lilly.

Lil nodded, "I am, we don't know how far along I am though."

"What are you guys going to do? Do you plan on living together?" Vera asked, interested in his friend's future. "It would make sense that you two live together now. The baby needs you together."

"We already live together." Lilly answered buttering her toast.

Will frowned, "since when?" He asked loudly.

"I never really moved out." Scotty shrugged and ate some cereal they had on the counters.

"You guys are unbelievable. How could you keep this from us?" Kat said exasperatedly. They were having sex behind their backs and now they were in world of trouble.

"We don't need this from you Kat. Scotty's transferring. Either you be supportive or omit your comments." Lilly looked sharply at the other detective. Kat looked back at Lilly and nodded. "We have a relationship Kat. This isn't just sex." Lilly said honestly. Kat and the others were in fact really surprised. Lilly wasn't the type of person to openly declare that she was in a relationship.

"So this is it. You're just going to transfer then." Kat said to Scotty.

Scotty shrugged. "It's not like we can complain."

"We don't have much of a choice. Boss isn't notifying IAB so that's a good thing." Lilly finished her cup of tea. She didn't know if she could drink coffee anymore. She heard from either Allie or Chris that it wasn't really healthy.

Boss came into the room. "Valens, my office now." He said curtly.

Scotty stood up and followed his soon to be ex-boss. Lilly and Vera went to their desks while Kat and Will stayed back in the break room.

He shut the door behind him and glanced at Lil one last time.

"I took the liberty of speeding your transfer papers." Boss sat down and said shortly. Scotty felt a little hurt. He expected Boss to be angry but he didn't expect how hostile he was being.

The older man didn't give him any time to say anything. "If you please could sign here." Stillman pointed to the bottom of a page. Scotty read it first. It was his transfer papers; it listed personal reasons as the motive. The following pages were his physical and a letter of recommendation from him. "I don't understand. I thought I would be staying here until Monday."

Stillman shook his head, "I talked to Manny. You're going to West; he's willing to take you back. You'll be in narcotics once again."

So this was it. He worked at Central for nine years and all he got was a recommendation letter. He was angry, no doubt about that but also sad. "Boss I…"

"Valens I don't want to hear it." Stillman said firmly. "Take those papers to West. Manny is expecting you today."

"Goodbye sir."

"You ain't apologizing then." He heard Stillman say from his desk. Scotty turned around, and clearly said. "I didn't do nothing wrong. I love her, and I ain't sorry."

Stillman shook his head. "Get out of my sight." The older man spat.

Scotty controlled himself; he left the room and then walked to Lilly. He didn't give a damn anymore. He went straight to her desk and kissed her sweetly. She tensed but eventually she gave into him. Scotty caressed her cheek. "I going to West today Lil."

She shook her head, "That's not funny; you haven't filled any paperwork. It takes time for transfers to go through." She gave him a puzzled look.

"Boss placed importance on the paperwork. I start today." They noticed people around them whispering.

Lilly nodded and stood up, "I'll help you clear your desk." He smiled and followed her.

The task was daunting. Scotty felt all the eyes in the department were trained at them. Lilly was stoically by his side clearing all the junk he had. She held it together until she saw a picture of them in his drawer. They were at the beach, her face was smeared with sunscreen and his hair was shorter. They were grinning ear to ear; it had to be three or four years ago. She couldn't exactly remember. "Hey." He said and snatched the picture away from her hands. "That's mine." She looked up and almost cried but he gave her a big smile.

"Remember that day. We were working on a case; Kat invited us to the beach. You built that sandcastle with Veronica." He laughed.

"What?" Lilly frowned at him.

"Nothing, I just remember you got sunburns that's all." His laugh was infectious and she joined him.

He kissed her smile and emptied the last drawer. "I'm keeping this." She pointed to another picture; this one only featured her. Her hair looked like a bird nest but she was smiling at him. "I don't remember this one." She said.

Scotty smirked, "That's right after we found Brenda MacDowell." He grabbed her hand and caressed her wrist. "You hadn't slept for two days and you were very tired. I got you to smile for me."

"I don't remember what I said though." Scotty frowned. Lilly smiled and pecked him lightly. "You made a silly face and snapped the picture with your phone." She remembered then. He drove her home and tucked her in.

Lilly smiled and hugged him. "We'll be fine." She heard him whisper. He kissed her forehead. "I'm going now Lil." He grabbed his jacket and the few pictures he wanted to keep. He knew Lil would pack the rest of his stuff and take it home.

He said goodbye to the other detectives. "Be careful." Kat hugged him. "I'll talk to John." Will said as he clapped his back. Vera shook his hand.

Lilly smiled and went back to her desk. She didn't want to see him go. He went to her desk. "I'll take the car _Cielo_, I'll pick you up at 7:00." He kissed her softly.

He left headquarters with his head high. He didn't regret being with Lil, not for one second. He was sad that he was leaving her but he was still a detective, he could work either here or at West.

Scotty made his way to West. Manny Fernandez was waiting for him with open arms. "Welcome back Valens." The older man hugged him.

"It's good to be back." Scotty smiled; maybe this wouldn't be so bad. Manny led him to a desk. "Where's Anna?" Scotty asked.

"She's working on a murder case right now. I have something for you Valens. There's this case. I need you in the streets, undercover."

"Manny I can't do undercover. My girlfriend's pregnant." Scotty said half afraid that it would cost him his job.

Manny shook his head and pulled an arm to his shoulders. "Not like the Cortez case. I just want you in the streets, we are almost ready to close this case." Scotty nodded, he was sure Lil would flip if he went undercover.

He settled down on his new desk and received the last instructions from Manny. Scotty grabbed a baseball cap and some clothes from home.

He spent the whole morning and afternoon tracking dealers and getting back on the streets. It had been years since Scotty had been on the field. It was strange to be back. The streets were the same, different people but the same motives. He got some information from some minor drug dealers. Manny filled him in on the case. They were about to arrest Sean Johnson aka "Skinny" and Alvaro Ramirez. Manny needed confirmation about where they would be the following week. Fernandez was getting a team to catch the two drug dealers with an incoming shipment of heroine and cocaine. Scotty was in charge of confirming the location and listening to any other new information.

Scotty was a very capable detective. He managed to confirm the information. He went back to West, Anna greeted him; "Valens, long time no see. I hear you're back in narcotics." She smiled at him.

"I am." Scotty checked his watch. He had to leave if he wanted to catch Lilly before she left. "I have to go, tell Manny the info is legit. The cargo is supposed to arrive Wednesday, Southwest Philly. I gotta run, I'll catch you later Mayes."

He ran out of the door and went to his car. He was still dressed with the street attire. Baseball cap, undershirt and loose pants; summer was about to begin. It was a nice night. He drove to the precinct and went up to get Lilly.

"Let's go home Rush." He announced as he walked to her desk. She smiled as soon as she saw him.

She kissed him. "I missed you." He smiled and kissed her again. "Me too. Come on, let's go." She laughed when he pulled her away from the desk. He waved goodbye at Nick who was gathering some things. Stillman was nowhere to be seen.

"See you Monday Nick." She said quickly.

They were in the elevator when she finally seemed to notice his clothes. "Not that I don't like the more relaxed look but why aren't you wearing a suit?" She kissed his lips again.

His eyes crinkled. "I was working undercover." She frowned. "Not like that Lil. Fernandez wanted me to check some information about a bust." Lilly nodded. "But you are going to be working undercover?"

Scotty didn't want to lie to her, "I am, but I already told Manny that I wouldn't be able to work major undercover cases because my _Cielo_ is having my baby." He pulled her to him and kissed her one more time.

She removed the baseball cap and rumpled his hair. "I love you doll face." She wiped off some lipstick off his mouth. The doors opened, Will and Boss entered the elevator while Lil and Scotty left. Scotty felt the tension. Boss completely ignored him. Lil stood by him and ignored Boss's goodnight.


	27. Chapter 27

I don't own Cold Case.

I thank all of you who keep reading, especially those of you who take time to leave your thoughts as reviews.

Chapter 27

Later that night when they were cuddling and after they talked about their day at work Lilly asked him something. "Do you want to come with me to the doctor's appointment tomorrow?"

Scotty nodded, "I didn't know you called already." He said while he traced patterns on her back.

"I'm supposed to go tomorrow morning. I called Allie and she recommended someone." She said sleepily, his caresses relaxed her; he could get her to spill anything when he massaged her back.

"Did you tell her about the baby?"

She kissed his chest, "No. I think we should wait and tell everyone this Sunday during dinner." She moaned when he worked on her waist.

"What about your dad and Celeste?"

"Lil, do you want me to be there when you tell him?" He asked softly. He'd meet Paul Cooper a handful of times. He knew about them but Scotty didn't know to what extent Paul Cooper knew about their relationship.

"Yeah, we're going to meet tomorrow at noon." She cuddled him.

"At what time do we have to be at the doctor's?" He asked before she was out cold.

"9:30 AM" He got comfortable with her by his side. He nuzzled her neck lovingly and slept with a smile on his face.

The next morning Lilly woke up earlier than Scotty. She went to the bathroom and took a quick shower. Scotty fixed them breakfast before going into the shower. Lilly didn't have any nausea, she didn't know much about pregnancy but she thought she was supposed to be sick in the morning.

She commented it to Scotty; "it's weird, because I remember Allie and Chris complaining about morning sickness. Maybe I'm not really pregnant," she said gulping orange juice.

He laughed, "I think you are." She frowned at him.

"What if I'm not?" She asked challenging him.

"But you are. When was the last time you complained about cramps? Remember the whole crying for no reason thing and the fact that they drew blood and it shows that you Rush are definitely pregnant."

She glared at him, "you might have a point."

He kissed her frown and hurried her out of their home. They were both very nervous. Scotty felt out of place in the doctor's office. There were a lot of women, not as many men as he expected, "Where are the men Lil?" he asked softly.

She was a nervous wreck too. "I don't know Valens. I don't like this place." She replied just as anxiously.

Fifteen minutes later a nurse led them to an office. "The doctor will be with you shortly." He said as he closed the door.

"Ms. Rush?" he looked up from the chart. The doctor was a nice looking guy, late thirties, brown hair, and green eyes. He was tall and had nicely built.

"I'm doctor Josh Collins." Never once did he break eye contact with Lil. "Anyone ever tell you that you have beautiful blue eyes?" the doctor flashed a smile.

Scotty took in the doctor's smile and Lil's brief smile. The detective cleared his throat, "Actually is soon to be Valens. Scotty Valens." He offered his hand to the doctor. The man looked a little embarrassed and shook Scotty's hand.

"Lilly Rush soon to be Valens." Lil offered her hand and a smile. She then looked at Scotty who glared at the doctor.

"Valens as in Allie and Mike Valens?" The doctor asked them.

"Yes, he's my brother." Scotty answered to the point.

Lilly offered the doctor a bright smile. "Allie recommended you. She said you were great when she was pregnant with Alejandra and Ramiro."

"Did you take a pharmacy pregnancy test?"

"No, we had a physical at work and she tested positive for pregnancy." Scotty answered for Lilly. She nodded.

Lilly handed the physical paper to the doctor. "I'll have the nurse draw some blood to check your hormone levels, but it sure looks like you're pregnant Lilly."

"When was your last menstrual cycle?"

Lilly thought about it, "I think 2 months ago?" The doctor nodded, "I'm going to do an ultrasound, to check on the baby. That will give us an idea how old your baby is. Please lower your jeans." The doctor left the room to give them some privacy.

Lilly unbuttoned her jeans, "soon to be Valens huh." Lilly said playfully.

"Yeah. It probably wasn't the best way to propose but yeah. We're getting married." He said quickly looking into her eyes.

Lilly didn't flinch; her heart was pounding. Years ago when Patrick proposed he had planned out a lovely evening and she'd seen the proposal coming. "Why do you want to get married?" She asked breathlessly. Lilly thought it had been a joke, a way to assert his territory but his eyes held that glint. Scotty Valens got this sparkle on his eyes when he wanted something.

"Well, first of all I love you. I can't function without you and you're pretty." He replied.

She smiled and hugged him, "I want a ring." She kissed his lips. He smiled and kissed her back. He moved the hair out of her face, "I have one in mind."

"You do?" She asked with awe in her voice. This was happening it was real. She smiled openly when Scotty rooted for his jean pockets.

"Yeah. I really was going to propose." He bought a ring for her a few weeks after Ramiro was born. He had it on his pocket right now.

Scotty lifted her chin. "I am going to propose." He looked into her clear blue eyes. The doctor was right, she had beautiful eyes; he got down on one knee "I love you more than yesterday Lilly Rush. I want to spend the rest of my life with you and have five kids with you. Will you be my wife please?" he felt very confident.

Lilly couldn't think she would be this happy when he proposed. She nodded. "I don't know about the five kids but yes. I'll marry you Scotty." Her eyes sparkled with happiness. She laughed and kissed him passionately after he placed the ringer on her finger.

"I'm sorry it wasn't more romantic." He kissed her cheek and the side of her neck.

"I don't need candles or flowers Scotty. I just need you by my side, every single day." She said honestly. He pulled her incredibly close.

"I'll never leave your side _Cielo_." He kissed her tenderly. The doctor entered the room just as Scotty deepened the kiss. They separated when the doctor cleared his throat.

Lilly blushed a little and then rested on the table. She felt something inside of her. It was uncomfortable.

They heard a strong swoosh first and then the rapid heartbeat of their baby.

"There's your baby. It looks like you are nine weeks along. Everything looks good, I'm going to give you some vitamins and have Marlon draw blood." The doctor explained.

Scotty and Lilly couldn't keep the smiles off their faces. "We're having a baby _Cielo_." He kissed her hands and then her mouth. He felt like he was on top of the world. Lilly was going to give him something precious; he couldn't believe how lucky he was.

The doctor gave them more information and they made an appointment for the following month.

Before they knew it they had vitamins, three ultrasound pictures and were on their way to meet Paul.

Scotty was a little nervous "Should we tell him we're getting married?"

Lilly seemed to think about it. "I think so." She replied absently while looking at her engagement ring. Scotty chose well, her ring was simple yet beautiful. It was silver with three aligned sapphires. It must have cost him a lot. "Why sapphires?" He was behind the wheel driving them to a café. "They reminded me of you. When I think of you I think of blue."

She smiled and kissed him again. "Scotty I don't want anything big. Let's just go to courthouse and get married. He looked at her and smiled. "Call your dad, tell him to meet you there. Call my mom too."

"What are you saying Valens?" Lilly said teasingly.

He turned to her, they were waiting for the green light, "I'm saying let's get married today."

Lilly laughed but then he turned to the courthouse. "You're serious." She saw him nod. "I love you. You clearly love me. I don't want to wait. I want you to be a Valens now."

"What about the dress and the rings?" Lil asked quickly. Scotty seemed to have solutions for anything. "We'll go to one of those stores that sell wedding clothes and to a jewelry store." Lilly smiled. She didn't hesitate; last time when she planned a big wedding it ended up being a disaster. "Lets do it, I don't want to wait either." She was sure she wanted to spend every day of her life with Scotty. She couldn't imagine life without him anymore.

They made it to a bridal store. Lilly chose a short white wedding dress. The sales lady did her make up when Lilly told her that she was getting married. "You're beautiful hon. But I won't let you get married without proper make up." "Where's your fiancé?"

Lilly smiled, "He's picking up a suit and our wedding rings." She said smiling happily.

An hour later a very handsome looking Scotty picked her up from the bridal store. "Your dad called you, I told him to meet us at the courthouse. My parents are on their way."

"Did you get our rings?" She pecked him. She felt flutters in her stomach. "Yeah." He smiled form ear to ear. They got into the car and went into the courthouse. They filled out the paperwork. His mother found them first, "are you crazy?" She looked confused. "I thought you were in trouble." Scotty didn't give her any time to keep ranting, "Ma, Lil and I are getting married."

His parents were dumbfounded. Paul Cooper looked lost; he arrived three minutes after the Valens. "What's going on? I get a call from your boyfriend saying you're getting married."

"Who are you?" Rosa asked curiously.

"Paul Cooper, nice to meet you. I'm Lilly's father." He stretched his hand to Rosa who shook it and introduced herself.

"Ramiro Valens." Scotty's dad offered his hand too.

Before the parents could make sense of the situation they were in a clerk called the couple. Soon enough they were in front of a judge. They signed the papers. Scotty slipped a ring on her finger. It was a simple silver band; there wasn't any doubt in her mind. From the moment they went into the courthouse she felt so sure. Unlike the time she decided to get hitched with Ray or even when she was planning a huge wedding for Patrick's sake. She took the other wedding band and placed it on his finger. She kissed his lips and he smiled against her lips. In less than an hour Lilly Rush became Lilly Valens.

Rosa and Paul signed as witnesses. Scotty kissed her when the judge declared them husband and wife. Rosa snapped a picture with her phone.

"I'm happy for you, but why now? Why is this so rushed?" Ramiro asked politely.

Scotty smiled and kissed Lilly once again. "I proposed at the doctor's," He answered, still looking at Lilly.

"Why? Are you sick?" Rosa immediately assumed there was something wrong.

"No, I'm pregnant." She smiled.

Paul was the first to congratulate her. He hugged her. "You love him right?" Paul looked uncertain. Lilly smiled and nodded her head.

Ramiro recovered quicker than Rosa. He congratulated them both. Rosa was speechless but hugged Lilly tight. "I'm very happy for you." She kissed her cheek. Rosa then hugged her son and cried a little.

"Don't mind me. I'm happy." Scotty laughed and kissed Lilly again. He looked so happy.

"We have to call Mike. What about your friends? We have to celebrate." Rosa said excitedly.

Lilly looked at Scotty helplessly, she didn't want a huge party or celebration. In fact she wanted to spend the whole weekend in Scotty's arms. Her husband; that sounded beautiful to her ears, "Ma, no. We're going away for our honeymoon."

Scotty placed an arm around her. "Yeah. We already booked the hotel room. We're supposed to be at the airport in thirty minutes." Lilly lied easily.

Rosa started to argue but Ramiro placated her. "They already spent the money. You'll have time for parties later on."

Scotty and Lilly waved their parents goodbye. "We're staying home right?" She asked when they entered their car. "Of course my dear wife." Scotty smirked.

"I know you didn't want anything." He stated.

She smiled; they were going home to their bed. She could see the hunger in his eyes. "We'll go somewhere in a couple of months. I swear." He told her sincerely.

Lilly kissed his cheek. "I don't care if we never go anywhere." Lil truly didn't care about any trips. She'd never been one to care about vacation plans or anything related. She just wanted Scotty.

They got home in less than thirty minutes. Scotty stopped her before she opened the door. "Wait up Lil." He closed their apartment door. "I have to carry you over the threshold." She squealed in delight when he picked her up and opened the door.

He laughed and kissed her on the mouth. "Welcome home Mrs. Valens." He didn't let her down. He climbed the stairs to their bedroom. He kissed her lips and dropped her to the bed. She pulled him to her. "I don't think I told you but you look stunning in that dress." He ran his hand over the white fabric.

She bit his lips. "You've never called me stunning before." She kissed him sweetly. "You are gorgeous, striking, arresting, fascinating, beautiful, stunning." He kissed her face, neck and slowly lowered her zipper as he talked.

Lilly was very turned on by his attitude. Her husband slowly removed her dress. She was in the bed with her white underwear on. Scotty's eyes were smoldering. Her fingers acted on their own accord. She undid the tie and unbuttoned his white shirt. He kissed and caressed her softly. Scotty's lips trailed on her neck. She sought her lips. He moaned and kissed her roughly. "I love you Lil. Always."

She nodded. "I love you too Scotty." She felt such a connection to him in that moment. He removed his own pants. He pounced on her. She welcomed his weight. They were naked in no time; he made love to her gently. He panted and moved slowly within her. Lilly ran her hands over his shoulders and hair. She lifted her hips in time with his thrusts. She was delirious with pleasure. She looked up to Scotty and kissed him hard. She felt her orgasm approach; it seemed to trigger Scotty's. They came at the same time. Scotty breathlessly slumped over her. Lilly kissed his face tenderly. He smiled at her. "We're married Lil."

She kissed his lips, "we are." He rolled to the side and brought her to his chest.


	28. Chapter 28

I don't own Cold Case.

Here you go, another chapter. At least I know two of you like and are reading this story. I have a big test on Saturday so this might be the only chapter this week. I cannot thank Tari Lovegood and princesshikari99 enough for all of their continuous support and encouraging reviews. As always please read and review.

Chapter 28

Scotty woke up to Lil kissing his lips. He smiled, his wife kissed his chin, earlobes and cheeks before he rolled her over and kissed her lips. She laughed and kissed him again. "Good morning wife." She smiled at him.

"Morning husband." She replied happily. It was Monday morning. Scotty looked over to the mantle. Their alarm clock read 6:00 AM. "We have to get up and go to work Lil." He kissed her neck and moved between her legs.

"Again Scotty?" She said as Scotty rubbed her with his fingers. He smirked; they had been in bed for the last two days. They only moved from the bed to eat and shower. "What can I say? You get me all hot and bothered." He playfully nipped at her lips. She sighed happily. Lilly loved married life. She thought they would regret it the morning after but it felt right to be married to Scotty. If she had to be honest, she had wanted to get married. She wanted stability; she wanted the house, the children, all of it with Scotty.

He tickled her and grinned, she thought they would have a quickie before going to work but Scotty licked her bellybutton and lowered his body. She felt his tongue against her core. Scotty was good. She moaned and enjoyed the pleasure he brought her.

Lilly was on cloud nine, they made breakfast together and hurried off. Scotty insisted on driving her to PPD. She accepted. She was about to walk to the station when Scotty gave her one last kiss, "I'll pick you up at seven." She smiled and walked out of the car.

She smiled and hummed to herself, she made her way to her desk. Kat approached her, "Good morning Kat." Lilly smiled beautifully.

Kat frowned, "What's going on? Why are you so happy? I thought you were still sad about Valens."

Lilly shook her head, "No. We're fine."

Boss and Will made their way to the break room. They seemed to be discussing something. Lilly caught the last part of it. "They can't work together. It's not up to me. Maybe I was too harsh on Scotty but he knows better."

Boss quieted when he saw his two female detectives. "My office. We're having a meeting."

Lilly and Kat followed the older detectives, "Vera has the day off." Boss sat down. Lilly and Kat sat in front of him. "As you know Scotty is not with us anymore." Lilly shifted uncomfortably. She couldn't deny that she was still angry with Boss for rushing Scotty's transfer papers.

"Kat will be your new partner. You will be assigned desk duty by your fourth month." Boss said coldly.

Lilly nodded, "Kat, you'll rotate when Rush takes up desk duty." Boss said quickly.

"Rush, I need you to fill this paperwork." Lilly stretched her left hand and grabbed the papers.

"Is that? Did you and Scotty?" Kat asked and grabbed her hand.

"We got married Saturday." She answered smiling at Kat. The other detective smiled and asked, "How, did he propose?"

Lilly nodded, her blue eyes sparkled with happiness. "He proposed at the doctor's office. We got the ultrasound of our baby and he dropped to one knee and gave me my engagement ring." Lilly showed Kat her hand. Kat smiled and grabbed her hand.

Stillman and Will watched as Lilly told Kat everything about her impromptu wedding. "He said we shouldn't have to wait. I didn't want to wait either so we got married."

Stillman looked confused at first; "Lilly are you doing this because of the baby?" he looked really concerned about her.

Lil frowned and shook her head, "I love Scotty. We got married because we love each other. He bought my engagement ring before we knew about the baby."

Finally John Stillman let his emotions out, "You're making a mistake Rush. Scotty is not good enough for you. He's trouble Lilly."

Lilly stood up, she was angry now, "It's Valens now, and my husband is a good man. He loves me and you know nothing about our relationship."

"I know that he'll hurt you." Stillman said loudly. At this point both Will and Kat left the office. Lilly was hurt by his words. She always considered Boss to be a mentor for her. "He could never hurt me intentionally. Scotty loves me and I love him like I've never loved anyone else. We're happy, we're going to have a baby."

Lilly tried to make Boss understand, "I know that we can't work together. You really hurt him, he never expected you to turn on us like this."

Stillman frowned, "Lilly, you were lucky I didn't report you to IAB."

"I'm not talking about that, I know that he couldn't be my partner anymore Boss. I'm talking about the rush you put on his transfer papers. Scotty was hurt; he worked with us for 8 years. He deserved better and you know it." Lilly left after her little speech. She never thought Boss would turn against them. He had no right to tell her off about her relationship to Scotty.

Lilly went straight to her desk. She resumed her paperwork, Kat congratulated her, and Will did too. After she finished the paperwork Lilly stopped by Scotty's desk and threw away useless papers from old investigations and separated the useful reports. She put his ties and two shirts he had on his drawer.

Will knew better than to advocate for Boss. He clearly didn't agree with Stillman assessment and let Lilly know, "that boys loves you. Any fool can see that. John is just trying to protect you. You're like a daughter to him."

Lilly was angry with Boss but she understood that he was hurt they hid their relationship. She hoped he could understand them in time but right now John Stillman wasn't a priority for her. She was too happy; Stillman wasn't about to ruin that. Being with Scotty during the past year taught her to take thing easy. She didn't worry about work as she used to. She was still very driven but spending time with Scotty and his family filled a void she'd never explored before. Ever since being a little kid Lilly wondered about having a family. The Valens became the family she never had. She liked having a family.

The rest of the day went without a hitch. Scotty called her twice, once to do lunch and the other one because he could. They didn't do lunch together. She was too busy with a new case coming in. Boss looked a little remorseful but didn't say anything to her.

Scotty walked up to her desk. He kissed the side of her neck, "hello. _Cielo_." She turned and kissed him. "Let me finish this report and we'll go home." He nodded and went into the break room. "I'll talk to Will and Kat."

She saw him shake hands and hug her colleagues. She finished writing her report and went into the break room too. "Vera didn't believe me when I told him you guys got hitched." Kat said loudly.

"When did you talk to Nick?" She asked going into the fridge. Lilly grabbed some ice cream.

"Earlier this afternoon. He called to check on the new case, said he was going crazy. Toni and him were shopping for Andre's new dorm room." Kat laughed when Scotty frowned.

Lilly had a good time; it was like Scotty hadn't left at all except for his clothes. He wore a casual outfit, just like last time. He was still working undercover then. Scotty got a call yesterday night but he'd refused to leave Lil by herself. Manny understood his position when her husband told him that they were on their honeymoon.

They left headquarters half an hour later. "So you're still undercover then."

Scotty looked nervous, "yes, but just until Wednesday."

Lilly frowned, she didn't like undercover jobs, her last boyfriend had chosen undercover over her. She knew that Scotty wouldn't leave her but she still didn't like it. "I know Lil. I'll talk to Manny but it's not looking good _Cielo_."

She asked, "Why?"

Scotty drove steadily; Lilly noticed that he was avoiding the answering her. "Scotty, just tell me please."

"I talked to Manny, there's no homicide posts. Manny is pressuring me to take undercover cases. He says I'm a natural undercover."

She stiffened, "So, you're going to be working undercover majorly."

"I guess so, but I already told Manny that nothing big or out of Philly. He agreed for now. Lil, I'm applying to other homicide units in Philly. We'll just have to adjust and wait for something else to come up." She nodded but wasn't too convinced about his undercover work.

She didn't complain however. Scotty's job wasn't as bad as she imagined. He always picked her up from work. He was working undercover and doing it well. She just didn't like that he was in the streets. Lilly had a feeling that he was placed in more danger that way. Undercover was for single guys, no attachments. Scotty was attached; she knew it was a matter of time before something happened.


End file.
